


The Stranger Is Always You

by Heartwriter2607



Series: The Stranger Is You [1]
Category: Archie Comics, Barchie - Fandom, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: And I really mean a lot of drama, Angst, Arguing, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Graduation, Heartbreak, Love, Mutual Pining, Navy, Pining, Platonic Cuddling, Prom Night, Romance, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Underage Drinking, Video Tapes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:54:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 49,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23756455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heartwriter2607/pseuds/Heartwriter2607
Summary: A story that starts with the consequences of episode 4x17.He always knew that Riverdale was a town full of mysteries and lies. A place where murderers and sinners, good people and villains lived since several generations, hiding behind the walls made of old stone and in the misty fog like creatures born in shadows.He always knew that this town was somehow too small for all this horror, for all this unbelievable stories and dramatic moments that happened in the last years.And he always knew that someday, all the lies and all the mistakes he made, would catch up to him, just like all the other citizen in Riverdale had to fight their own demons at some point.Archie Andrews knew why he had to play Betty Cooper's boyfriend in front of the whole school.But he never expected that this would shake loose so many problems... and also feelings.
Relationships: Archie Andrews & Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper, Barchie - Relationship
Series: The Stranger Is You [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1788499
Comments: 109
Kudos: 379





	1. When you've got no other choice, you can follow my voice

He always knew that Riverdale was a town full of mysteries and lies. A place where murderers and sinners, good people and villains lived since several generations, hiding behind the walls made of old stone and in the misty fog like creatures born in shadows.

He always knew that this town was somehow too small for all this horror, for all this unbelievable stories and dramatic moments that happened in the last years.

And he always knew that someday, all the lies and all the mistakes he made, would catch up to him, just like all the other citizen in Riverdale had to fight their own demons at some point.

Archie Andrews knew why he had to play Betty Coopers boyfriend in front of the whole school.

It all made sense. Tricking the stonies to make them believe that Jughead Jones was actually dead would have to be one of the most bizarre things he did in his life, probably right after fighting a bear with bare hands.

The ginger boy told many lies in his life. This would only be one more little fib on the never-ending list he kept in his mind. He isn’t a good actor – he never was.

And Archie did a lot of wrong things in his past, but faking feelings for someone was something he never had to do before. Hell, he never even planned on doing so.

Some years ago, he fell for his teacher Ms. Grundy, while being absolute blind to the sick and twisted love affair. Thinking back at this time he now realizes that this would have to be one of the biggest mistakes he made in his love life. Giving away his innocence, part of his youth and also his senses might made him wiser in the end, but also a little more damaged on the inside.

Falling for Veronica Lodge was a lot simpler and healthier. It wasn’t hard at all to develop some feelings for the dark-haired beauty from New York. She wasn’t just some pretty, new girl in town who knew exactly what to do or what to say in the company of a young man – she also had an incredibly big heart lying under this impressive mask of designer clothes and expensive lipstick.

Archie always followed his heart when it came to love.

That’s why he rejected his best friend Betty Cooper at the prom night years ago.

_“Of course, I love you Betty. But I can’t give you the answer you want. I’m not good enough for you... I’ll never be good enough for you”._

Those words might have hurt, but they were nothing but the truth.

He loves Betty. _Of course, he loves her._

But in his mind, he just wasn’t good enough for her. That was a fact that was clear to him since the beginning of High School. Betty grew up from a pretty young girl to an even more beautiful woman and he watched her during this development since the day they met at the age of four.

Betty is smart, Betty is funny. She is not only pretty; she is beautiful in a way that most other girl at her age could never even reach.

He still remembers the time when he saw her wearing makeup for the very first time at the age of 14.

He knew that makeup made women look older and more intense; he saw it whenever his mother visited Riverdale and he watched her change from a tired looking lady to a businesswoman with only a short application of some cherry lipstick.

But meeting Betty at POP’s at a summer afternoon, sitting across from her and starring at a 14-year-old girl with bright, green eyes, surrounded with dark lashes and glittery, pink lipstick on her smiling lips was a memory that never left his mind since then.

Maybe that was the day that made him even more aware of the fact, that Betty was a girl that wasn’t playing in his league anymore. She was far more perfect that he could ever be.

He always thought that she knew something that was so obvious.

And that was the reason why the prom night not only broke Bettys heart, but also his own.

It was clear for him for years that Betty deserved only the best… and that he wasn’t any near that category, while Betty spent those exact same years, picturing her future with Archie as her boyfriend by her side.

It’s true that that realization kind of killed him inside. They were walking in different directions without even knowing it and once it was clear where exactly they stood it was painful to see how big the distance between them has become.

… and maybe that is the reason why playing her boyfriend several years later wasn’t something that he was really looking forward to. He wasn’t scared that this could break up some old wounds that maybe weren’t fully healed… and he wasn’t scared that he could hurt Betty again, because he knew that she was more than happy and in love with Jughead. That wasn’t something that he saw coming when he let her go that night a few years ago… and maybe it wasn’t quit what he expected to happen so soon as well.

He was scared that playing boyfriend and girlfriend could mean more to him that it should.

He loves Veronica. He really does.

But Archie knows that feelings are something that you just can’t control. It doesn’t matter how much you want to, or how wrong they seem.

Feelings are undeniable and there is nothing you can do about them.

He did everything in his power to ignore the rising feeling in his chest, while walking around in the school hallway, hand in hand with Betty Cooper. He tried to avoid getting caught at starring at her for a second too long, when she was sitting beside him during classes. It took at while to realize that it wasn’t forbidden to look at her with love in his eyes – because that was his job, wasn’t it?

To play the boyfriend of his beautiful best friend?

It eased his mind, thinking that all of this was just part of the plan. That it was okay, to feel this connected with her.

He was holding on to that thought while kissing her in the music room, heart beating so loud, he was scared she might hear it, lips pressed to hers with such a softness he didn’t even knew he owned.

And maybe that… maybe that kiss was the moment he realized he screwed up.

He screwed up because he not only caught some feelings for Betty, no – he realized that this kind of feelings have always been buried somewhere deep inside him all his life. Because this didn’t feel new. I just felt much more intense than all those years before.

Betty has the ability to make you feel happy when you’re next to her. That wasn’t something that he was just learning today.

He knew this all his life. But not once did he feel this undeniable electricity towards her… until now.

_It was easy not to talk about this._ _But it wasn’t easy not to think about it._

Suddenly playing Bettys boyfriend at school was something he looked forward to. Not in any romantic sort of way. But spending so much time with her made him realize how little he saw her in the last years.

Getting into a relationship with Veronica was great.

But he didn’t realize how much it actually affected his relationship with Betty.

Maybe questioning all his life choices was something that he should have done a long time ago. But sometimes you need to let things happen without thinking too much about it. You need to make mistakes to learn from them, just like you need to feel real emotions to be able to differentiate them from unimportant feelings.

All this realizations, all this thoughts and moments full of questioning _everything_ finally lead up to the moment when Archie kissed Betty in his garage.

He never planned this. He never wanted to cheat on Veronica. He never wanted to hurt anyone.

And still – kissing Betty felt more right than wrong.

Maybe he knew it since they fake-kissed in the music room.

Maybe he knew it since she started dating Jughead and it nearly killed him.

Maybe he knew it since the day he met her at the age of 5, smiling at her from his window.

Maybe he knew all along that he is crazy for this girl and there is nothing that he can do about it.

And watching her leaving the garage after their kiss with a soft “I need to go, Arch” deepened the thought that was circling his mind:

Yes, he feels guilty. But not because they kissed… he feels guilty because he wants to do it again.

That’s the only thing on his mind the following hours. It’s always there, back in his head… even when Veronica came to his room, apologizing for the fight and the words she threw at him just hours ago.

He knows that he should tell her what happened and that honesty is something important in a relationship, but he still can’t bring himself to speak out the things in his head.

When Veronica left and the first thing he did was turning to the window, eyes searching for the girl next door he knew… this wasn’t something that would go away overnight.

This wasn’t just some _my-life-is-in-danger-kiss_ like in the night when they both hunted the Black Hood… even when he still thought that being scared wasn’t the only reason they kissed that night. But until now he didn’t have a reason to think about that again. Back then, everything fell back into place the next morning, Betty had Jughead and he had Veronica.

But this time something had changed and he was sure Betty could feel it too. He could read it in her eyes when she was looking back at him from her own window, her small hand pressing against the cold glass, mirroring his own movements.

They both screwed up and they knew it.

He was sure that nothing in his life ever felt so complicated or crazy, that not once something felt like it was tearing him apart every second he started thinking about it.

Trying to avoid Betty was something that was just not possible. Just the day after they stood side by side on the stage to perform Midnight radio. He told himself not to look at her, and god he knows that he should be happy that his girlfriend was standing on his left side, singing words full of love in his direction… still it was impossible to not follow the soft voice of Betty, looking at her once and then, starring at her beautiful face in the dim stage light.

He prayed to god that no one would notice his starring while he figured out that he couldn’t just turn off the desire to be near her.

_I feel something for her. I like her. And I will go to hell for this._

Archie doesn’t know how he managed to do it, but he didn’t saw Betty the whole next day. It was a normal Saturday that he spent at the gym, training more than usual to get a clear head for a while. He didn’t even saw Veronica, which he was more than glad about.

**Will go shopping with Cheryl today and I’ll have dinner with my family.** **Lunch tomorrow at POPs? Xx – _Veronica Lodge 2:43pm_**

He was staring at her message for a bit too long while trying to figure out why he felt like the worst person on this planet as he answered with a short:

**Perfect! POPs tomorrow at 12 _– Archie Andrews, 2:45pm_ **

Maybe he felt so relieved that he would have a few more hours without Veronica by his side, because he still wasn’t really sure on how or what to tell her.

He knew that the kiss between him and Betty shook something lose that was bigger than the consequences he imagined. This wasn’t just kissing your childhood-best-friend. This was also being unfaithful to your partner and the more Archie thought about that, the more he started to realize that he just couldn’t tell Veronica what happened.

This wouldn’t just be a bomb he would drop on their relationship – this would be their destruction.

So, it was pretty simple. He was sure he would just forget about it.

And that worked… for a day. And that only because he didn’t saw Betty at all.

His plan started to crumble on Sunday.

It was a few minutes before 12 when he picked up Veronica and they drove the familiar way to POPs, the voice of the dark-haired girl filling the car with stories about the shopping day with Cheryl while the warm summer wind blew through the wide opened windows, whirling her hair around like in one of these old movies. Veronica always talked a lot, and this was one of the few days that he was thankful for that.

Going back to normal seemed so much easier than he had expected.

Maybe this would all work out.

Maybe they could pretend the kiss never happened… they almost managed it at the first time.

Archie never thought that positive and optimistic thoughts could be taken from someone within seconds. But the moment they entered the parking lot at POPs and got out of the car he hates him for thinking that everything could be that simple.

Because _of course_ , positive thoughts would be answered with the realistic truth.

And _of course_ , it wasn’t possible to get away with something so wrong.

 _Of course_ , this would be the place he would meet her again.

Betty Cooper is standing at the entrance of the small diner, dressed in a simple, light-blue summer dress, the blonde ponytail softly waving in the summer wind. By her side – of course – Jughead Jones, the leather jacket replaced by a simple black shirt because of the temperature, hands buried in his pockets while speaking to his girlfriend with a small smile on his lips.

Veronicas voice is only getting through to him in small waves, words like “ _Oh, I forgot to tell you that Betty and Jughead are coming too_ ” crossing his mind while his smiling girlfriend grabs him by the hand, directing him his way to his best friends.

His mind is blank as they’re walking towards them, eyes fixed on the blonde girl at the door. He shouldn’t be staring at her like that, but he can’t help but wonder how she feels about this whole situation.

_Did she tell Jughead about the kiss? Didn’t seem so, judging by the way they interact with each other._ _Did she even think about it at all or was it something that she just wanted to forget?_

The moment they reach them at the door and her green-blue eyes meet his brown ones he kind of knows the answer to that. It’s the mixture of nervousness and tension in her gaze, the classic facial expression of Betty Cooper when she tries to act all normal and ordinary. She has that mask on whenever she tries to hide something, an act that nearly no one can read.

It takes Archie two seconds to recognize the way her eyes search their way over his face, how she is letting out a deep breath so silent that no one else even notices it.

_She didn’t tell Jughead._ _And she is still thinking about it._

As soon as she realizes that he caught the little emotions running over her face she quickly looks away, grabbing for Jughead’s hand, smiling at him against the blinding sunlight.

The next 30 minutes are blurred. They sit down like they always do; two pairs face to face, ordering the same burgers and the same old milkshakes. It’s pathetic. They talk about school, how the exams are killing them, how they all can’t wait for graduation and prom night and how performing Hagrid and the angry inch was something way cooler than any of them ever thought.

Archie follows his plan, he talks when he needs to, he answers questions, he laughs when everyone else is laughing.

Two days ago, this would have been perfect. It would be normal.

Looking at his group of friends, Archie realizes that for them, everything seems to be fine. Neither him nor Betty told them about the kiss or the moment at their windows… and somehow it seems so simple to keep it like that forever. The group would be fine, and everything would keep going like this. Everything is alright.

Expect that for Archie, nothing is alright. Nothing is normal; nothing is the way it used to be.

“Isn’t this nice?” Veronica is smiling at the three of them, lifting her milkshake to a toast. “Common guys… let’s promise each other that it will always stay like this.”

They all lift their glasses, meeting each other in the middle. It is the perfect illusion of a perfect night and for a short moment he catches Betty’s eyes on him before she smiles at Veronica, sipping on her vanilla shake.

That’s the moment it dawns to him, that they both already broke the promise they made a few seconds ago. It won’t always stay like this. He watches the way Betty licks her lips after drinking the last sip of her shake, her eyes shining like the sun outside and suddenly he knows… he can deny it as much as he want, but he knows that this feeling inside him won’t just disappear overnight.

They leave POPs one hour later, laughing at one of Jughead’s jokes, walking back to the cars when Betty realizes that she left her purse at the Diner table. He watches her rushing back inside while Veronica is lecturing Jughead about one million ways he could have styled his jeans with a better shirt.

Maybe it’s a reflex, maybe it’s a voice inside him that tells him to follow Betty, but the next thing he knows is how he’s walking back to the Diner, the voices of Veronica and Jughead fading in the background without even recognizing his absence.

He walks through the door, steps inside the second she wants to walk outside again. She crushed into him while looking down at her purse, obviously checking if something is missing.

“Hey… careful”, he says while her surprised eyes look up at him. Her lips part for a second, like she wants to say something, but she just stares at him with an unreadable expression.

It takes a few seconds until she takes a step back again, bringing some reasonable distance between them. “I forgot my purse”, she explains with a nervous smile, holding up the black pocket in her right hand.

Archie simply nods. “Something missing?”

She shakes her head, fighting a small smile on her lips. “No, not even one dollar… seems like all the bad people in Riverdale are gone by now.”

He laughs at that and doesn’t think twice about his answer: “So I guess Riverdale isn’t a wicked, little town anymore?”

She freezes as he speaks, and he knows exactly what she is thinking. They sang the song wicket little town at the school musical and… well the musical wasn’t something that they’re really happy to talk about.

“Arch…”, she says quietly and something about the sound of her voice takes him back to their rehearsal in the garage, her warm presence right in front of him, her lips and body pressed against him without any air left between them.

“I know”, he answers her unspoken question.

_I know you still think about it too._ _I know just like you that this is wrong._

_…and I know that you can feel this too_.

The look on her face is packed with sadness and it breaks his heart, looking at her like that. “Look, Betty… I know that this is weird and… confusing… but I don’t want it to be like this between us”.

“Me either”, she agrees with a small smile.

“So… we just forget about it?” It’s supposed to sound funny but as soon as her eyes meet his own, he can feel the tension rising in his chest.

She nods slowly, takes a deep breath. “I guess this would be the best for… for all of us”.

She turns her head slightly, looks around him through the diner window, watching Jughead and Veronica in the parking lot, still fighting about some stupid clothes.

He tries to make himself believe that she is right. “Yeah…”

She fights a smile on her face, and he hates the fact that he can tell in an instant that she doesn’t really mean it.

“Alright”, she speaks with a hopeful voice. “So, everything goes back to normal”. She takes a step forwards and he holds his breath as she reaches out, closing her small arms around him.

Hugging shouldn’t feel this intense; he thinks while putting his own arms around her, closing his eyes as he rests his chin on the top of her head, taking in the sense of her strawberry and vanilla shampoo.

_She ignores the fast heartbeat in his chest._

_He ignores the shiver on her skin_.

And so, everything goes back to normal… at least for a while.

They return to the parking lot together and drive home in separate cars.

Betty listens to Jughead’s news from the serpents, throwing in some comments into the conversation from time to time.

Archie listens to Veronica’s stories from her parents, asking politely about her father, sharing her pain about a family slowly falling apart.

When they both return to their rooms, they do everything in their power to avoid looking at the window they once stood before, scared to see someone on the other side looking back at them.

The two glasses between them that seem to symbol their relationship since they first saw each other are always there… in the background of their rooms, just like in the back of their heads.

It’s already dark outside when Archie is sitting on his bed, guitar on his lab and a few pieces of paper spread out in front of him. He has been trying to play some music for hours, trying to bring back a feeling he lost some time ago. He always loved making music and writing songs.

Somehow, that ability was taken from him for the last few years.

His eyes wander through his room, his fingers playing random sounds on the guitar, his voice mumbling soft sounds… until he looks directly at the window.

He tried… tried not to think about the girl next door. Tried to get his thoughts far away from her.

That’s why he doesn’t quite understand why he is putting the guitar down, standing up and walking towards the window like some voice told him so.

His eyes search for Betty in the dim light of her bedroom, but the girl next door is nowhere to be seen.

His mind flashes back to all the times they looked at each other through these windows. They even talked to each other every single night when they were younger; he remembers how it was the best feeling in the world getting to talk to someone through your bedroom window. They felt so special.

He remembers the times when they got older and when Betty started to close her curtains whenever she changed her clothes or wanted to have her privacy. They went through so many changes together, but they always kept coming back to the windows, even when it was just smiling at each other. That changed at the prom night some years ago… the night he broke Bettys heart and she kept her curtains closed for weeks.

Without really thinking about why he is doing it, or what the possible consequences could be, he takes his cell phone out of his pocket.

**Meet me at the bunker, tomorrow at 3pm? – _Archie Andrews, 9:43pm_**

His heart is beating fast inside his chest as he is hitting send, looking up through the window once again.

One minute, two, three… he doesn’t even know how long he is standing there, starring through the glass in front of him.

Suddenly, she is there.

Betty Cooper is appearing in her own room, standing at her window, searching for her best friend.

Her hair is down this time, falling around her face in small waves and she is already wearing her light-pink sleeping clothes.

He smiles as her eyes find his and he recognizes the phone in her hands.

Archie tries to read the expression in her face, tries to get some information out of her eyes.

God, he screwed up, didn’t he?

He is about to write her sorry and that he didn’t mean it, as he sees her starting to write something on her own.

He watches her type for over one minute, eyes her expression carefully. It takes some time for him to realize that she isn’t writing a whole essay to him… she is just deleting her own words over and over again, probably searching for the right answer.

And then the phone vibrates in his hand and the way she suddenly looks at him, directly through the window glass, lets him know that it was her message that just popped up on his screen.

He stares at her a little longer, looks at her unsure eyes, admires the fact that she has the beautiful ability to show so much emotion in just one moment.

The second a little smile is appearing in the curve of her lips, he finally looks down, unlocking the screen of his phone.

**I’ll be there… - _Betty Cooper, 9:51pm._**


	2. The origin of love

_Betty Cooper is the perfect girl next door._

_She is the perfect girl._

_She is the perfect daughter._

_She is the perfect student._

_She is the perfect friend._

_She is the perfect girlfriend._

Betty spent years listening to sentences like this, always answering with a small smile that hid all her real emotion’s underneath – a perfect lie for a not so perfect girl.

Today she doesn’t even know why she even tried to fit into this pretty _story-book-princess_ image. Maybe because her mother wanted her to do it. Or because everything seemed to be easier this way. Life is good when you are _perfect_.

Until someone uses this word against you.

“You are so _perfect_ , Betty. I’ve never been good enough for you. I’ll never be good enough for you”.

Maybe that was the night when everything changed. Not only her expectations regarding to Archie Andrews, but also her whole point of view about herself and the life she lived.

She wasn’t perfect. And she sure as hell never will be.

She always knew that buried under all these pink clothes and the tight, high ponytail was a much darker version of herself. Playing the good girl was a helpful way to avoid those dark moments that got to her from time to time.

But nothing could change the fact, that Bettys inside isn’t as pretty or holy as everyone thought it was. It is messy.

Starting a relationship with Jughead Jones was based on true feelings – that was for sure. Yes, it only happened several days after she got rejected by Archie Andrews… but falling for Jughead wasn’t based on unreturned feelings… at least not entirely.

It was based on the fact that it felt good to be loved by someone and it even felt _perfect_ to have a partner in crime in all of this horror that Riverdale went through the last few years.

Becoming a serpent was something that she never expected – but she quickly realized that a part of her seemed to be _perfect_ for that. The serpents not only made her feel like being part of a new family, they showed her a lifestyle much simpler and messier than the one she used to know.

When Betty found out that her father was – _in fact_ – a serial killer, something inside of her broke apart. If she wasn’t sure before that there was something dark inside her, then she now knew for sure.

Fighting against the Gargoyle king or against Chick were just other things added to the list she kept in her mind.

You see, Betty was never perfect, and her life wasn’t as well. She made tons of mistakes.

And yet, she never felt more guilty than in the hours after she kissed Archie during the musical rehearsal.

This falls under the things that you never think about, until they just happen. She wasn’t planning on kissing him that night. And hell, she never would have entered that garage if she knew what as about to happen.

Because Betty Cooper knows that she is a lot of things.

But she _never_ thought that she would be a cheater.

Maybe that’s why she tried everything in her power to avoid thinking about that kiss. Because if she would think about it, she would have to admit that this was something that made her happy. That made her feel alive. That made her question _everything_.

Betty loves Jughead. That is a fact.

But somehow… deep inside of her she knew, that a part of her never fell out of love with Archie Andrews.

That was something that she knew since they kissed in the car in front of Cheryl’s house in the night when they were haunting her father. Yes, it was a _my-life-is-in-danger-kiss_. That was something that everyone seemed to understand, it was something that made everything better and lead to Jughead and Veronica forgiving them.

But no one even asked why the kiss happened in the first place. Yes, their lives were in danger. And yes, it was a very impulsive move.

And yet, no one seemed to realize that this motive didn’t make anything better about that.

Betty knew she was in danger and simply because of the fact that she feared she was going to die, she wanted to know how it feels to kiss Archie. But the thing is, that she knew for sure that she wouldn’t have kissed anyone else in this situation.

And that’s the whole point. She never just wanted to kiss anyone in that moment. She just wanted to kiss Archie.

A year passed and the buried feelings she had for Archie came back to the surface once again.

Playing his girlfriend shouldn’t feel this good. It shouldn’t feel this right.

But it did. And that was a bigger problem than she wanted to admit at that time.

Pushing down feelings over and over again, ignoring them until your own hearts screams at you… that isn’t just hard… at some point it is impossible.

Fighting with Jughead was just one of the little things that lead up to the moment when she threw this damn microphone out of the way and met Archie in the middle, hands buried in his hair, eyes closed and lips _finally_ on his.

_And in this moment, Betty Cooper felt perfect for the very first time._

Reality came crushing down on her, as soon as they parted again. Eyes wide, heavy breathing and goosebumps all over her body – she tried to ignore all those signs.

“I need to go, Arch”. Her words were rushed and silent and she tried to ignore the feeling of his eyes on her as she walked out of the garage.

She kept pretending like the kiss never meant anything… it’s not like she didn’t have any experience in those things. But her plan failed as soon as Jughead came to her room, apologizing for their argument hours ago.

_Kissing her boyfriend shouldn’t feel this wrong._

Maybe it’s the images in her head about the kiss with Archie, that circle through her mind as soon as Jughead leaves her room again… or it is a small voice in the back of her head that tells her to walk to the window.

First, she can only see darkness in Archie’s room.

Then, after a few seconds of complete silence around her, she watches how her best friend Veronica Lodge is leaving through Archie’s door, mastering these high heels in a way that Betty never could.

Her heart freezes for a moment.

What if he told her? What if he told her about the kiss?

She watches Archie walking through his room and then standing still for a moment. Suddenly he turns around, hitting the boxing bag with so much anger in his face that he only shows at very rare moments.

She understands him.

Because _god_ , she is angry too. But not at him, not even at herself.

_She is angry because of the situation they’re in and about the mess they created._

“Oh Arch”. Her voice is just a whisper and that is the moment he catches her silhouette in the corner of his eyes.

She can’t even move while he walks to his own window, looking at her while the anger inside him seems to disappear.

And then he reaches out and places his hand against the window glass, so soft and tender that her heart is beating wild in her chest.

_This is real_ ; she thinks.

_And oh god, this isn’t over yet, is it?_

While her head is screaming at her, telling her to close the curtains and walk away she listens to the soft voice of her heart, lifting her arm and places her hand at her own window.

It’s a silent answer for an unspoken question.

_I feel this too._

_I still care for you._

_I am sorry._

Betty always had a special connection to Archie. Maybe it was the result of spending nearly every day with each other when they were younger.

And that connection made it very hard not to talk to him the following day.

 _It’s better like this_ ; she thinks to herself.

But she knew that she couldn’t avoid him for the rest of her life. That’s why she faked her best smile when Veronica invited her and Jughead for lunch at POP’s on Sunday.

She tried her best to prepare herself for the moment, when she would see him again.

The truth is, that she didn’t thought that it would be _this hard_ to see him walking towards her at POP’s parking lot or sitting across from him during lunch.

It’s not easy to convince yourself, that you’re not feeling something special for someone.

This got even more clearer when she accidently left her purse at the table, hurried back inside and then ran directly into him while going back outside.

Betty knew that it was the right way to forget about the kiss. It was better… for all of them.

She hid her feelings for Archie for years before all of this happened…this wouldn’t be any different. She could to it… if he would let her.

She convinced herself that hugging him didn’t feel warm and right and electrifying.

But damn – it did.

That evening Betty tried everything to avoid thinking about her best friend. She studied even though she already knew pretty much everything, she watched TV and showered for over an hour, standing under the running water, hoping it would take all her doubt and desperation away from her.

_And all it took was one text message._

One little text message to fall back into feelings, that she constantly tried to fight away.

**Meet me at the bunker, tomorrow at 3 pm? – _Archie Andrews, 9:43pm_**

****

_Betty hates herself._

_She hates that her heart beats so fast, that it might jump out of her chest._

_She hates that it makes her happy to get a message from him._

_She hates that she can’t control the emotions inside her._

_She hates that she can’t be perfect._

****

There is a lump in her throat as her feet find the way to her bedroom window, her eyes confirming what she already knew.

Of course, he is here.

Archie is standing in his room, looking directly at her though the walls of glass between them.

Her mind circles, thinking, screaming, crying… desperately searching for the right thing to do.

She needs to know what these feelings towards him truly mean.

She needs to find out, how to end this unbearable fight in herself.

His eyes lock with her own and suddenly her fast heartbeat seems to slow down.

So, Betty trusts in her instincts and replies. It takes her some time to find the right words to answer, before she realizes that she doesn’t need to write much. 

**I’ll be there… - _Betty Cooper,_** _**9:51pm.**_

She looks back up again after sending the message and watches how he unlocks his screen to read it.

The nervousness on his face is wiped away with happiness and a small smile is appearing on his lips.

She leaves her spot at the window after that. Maybe because it feels like the guilt is eating her from inside, nourished by the feeling of excitement.

The next day is hectic and stressful.

The teachers do their best to provide the students for the upcoming exams, which means that there is more homework, more learning material… basically more of everything.

Betty and Jughead spend the lunch break in the library, searching for books they could use for studying and Betty is more than glad that they don’t have time to join their friends in the dining hall.

Sitting across from Veronica and Archie wasn’t something that she really wanted right now.

At 2pm she leaves school with Jughead, both of them walking side by side, arms packed with books and notebooks. This remembers her of the time when they used to bring pieces of evidence or old documents to school some years ago. The time when her relationship with Jughead started and all they could think about was solving mysteries.

Back then, this was all she wanted.

And today, she can’t help but ask herself, if this was still enough.

“Betty…”. Jugheads begins and she looks up to him while walking down the streets. “I know I said I want to focus on school stuff and that I really want to graduate with you guys. But Charles asked me if I wanted to help him with some detective work this afternoon and… I really want to do that”.

She stays silent, as he adds: “I will do the school stuff tonight, I promise, but- “.

“Jug, it’s okay”, she interrupts him with a small smile. “I know that you will do your homework… and you don’t need to ask me if you want to help Charles… as long as you think that it won’t have a bad influence on your exams, I think you should do it”.

Betty can feel him smile as he gives her a short kiss on her temple. “Thank you, Betts. I love you”.

_She prays to god that she won’t end up in hell someday._

Half an hour later Jughead is on his way to Charles office while Betty is sitting on her bed, fingertips tapping on the soft blanked, eyes focused at the clock on the wall.

_3:04pm._

She pushes every doubt away and gets up, grabbing her pocket and phone and rushed down the stairs. Her steps are faster than usual while she walks down the streets, entering the forest after a few minutes.

_What am I doing here?_

The route to the bunker is familiar and her steps get slower as soon as she finds the round entrance in the ground.

_Breathing in – breathing out._

_Repeat._

Trembling, she climbs down the ladder, her heart beating so fast that it might jump out of her chest.

_Maybe this is a huge mistake._

That thought is pushed away as soon as she enters the small room under the earth and her eyes find Archie sitting on the old bed on her right, his guitar on his lap.

He seems surprised as he spots her standing there and an uncertain smile is appearing on his lips.

“Hey… didn’t think you were coming”, he admits.

Betty doesn’t really know what to do or what to say, so she grabs the next thing in her sphere which happens to be an old, wooden chair and sits down, mind circling around the _right_ or _wrongs_ in her head. 

“Yeah… I’m sorry I… kind of lost track of time”. She fights a smile on her lips, and he nods slowly, eyes still fixed on her.

Silence follows her words. “You brought your guitar”, she says. It’s not a question.

“Yes”. He looks down at the instruments in his hands and she can read in his face that he is unsure on what to say next. “I don’t even know why”, he admits, a little laugh coming from his throat. “I guess playing music was something that always helped me figuring out what I feel”.

He looks back up again, his eyes meeting hers. “… or what I want”.

For a few seconds no one speaks, and Betty gets lost in his gaze, mouth slightly open but no words leaving her throat.

“I wrote a song…”, he adds with a light scratch in his voice. “… actually, it’s not a new song, I wrote it some years ago but never finished it and… I don’t know, maybe this is stupid but... do you want to hear it?”

Betty can’t even find her own voice, so she just nods slowly, an unsure smile forming on her lips.

As soon as the rhythmic guitar sounds are filling the room and Archie begins to sing, voice so soft and warm just like the last time she heard him sing… just like in his garage.

She really tries… she tries to smile… she tries to hold his stare… but somehow this doesn’t feel right.

Betty breaks her eyes off from Archie and looks around the room while he keeps singing, words like “ _Oh, turn the radio on_ ” and “ _Common just dance, dance… for the rest of the night_ …” whirling through the air.

_She knows this song._

_How could she ever forget it?_

Because suddenly she is taken back to a time that she wanted to forget since it happened. The time when Archie rejected her in the prom night, and he sang this exact same song to her two days later in school.

Slowly and inconspicuously tears are building in Bettys eyes and she blinks against the soft candlelight’s.

“… Betty?”

She sobs as he stops playing and she can’t bear sitting here any longer.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”. Her heart breaks because _of course he is worried_ about her and _of course_ he is putting his guitar down immediately, standing up in the exact same moment she does.

“Betty, common, talk to me, please”, he begs, his right hand reaching out for her.

She shrinks away, takes a step back, can feel the chair on the back of her legs. “No… _no_ ”. She wipes her tears away, hands in front of her to shield herself from him… or from the painful emotions in his eyes.

“You… you just can’t do something like this Archie…”, she mumbles, finally able to look him directly in the eyes again.

He looks shocked and maybe a little bit scared… scared that he hurt her all over again.

“What do you mean? Is it about the song? I know this isn’t…”.

“It’s not just the song”, she interrupts him, finding the strength in her voice again. “It’s this whole situation, I mean… what are we even doing here?” Her words echo on the cold stone walls, finally speaking directly about the elephant in the room. “You wanted me to come here, to play me a song, Archie? The same song you once played me to break my heart?” She knows damn well that this is a low blow, but she doesn’t even care in this moment.

“Alright”, he answers, voice a little louder than before. “You know that’s not true… but fine - you want to talk about it? Then let’s talk.”

His eyes bore into her own. “You want to know why we are here? Why I even wanted to meet you here? Alright, here is your answer. I want to find out what the kiss between us means”.

Nervousness breaks over her and she looks away, eyes landing on the candles once again.

“I can tell you want it means”, she simply answers with a shaky voice. “It means _nothing_. It means absolutely nothing because it was a mistake”.

The air around them weights heavy with emotions and her ears are ringing as she looks back at him, watching the disbelieve in his eyes, seeing the sarcastic curve on his lips.

“Then tell me Betty… if the kiss was such a big mistake… why are you here?”

That question hits her unexpectedly. She wants to answer something to that, wants to tell him how wrong he is. But not one word is leaving her mouth.

A smile consisting of pain but also knowledge is appearing on Archie’s lips and he shakes his head. “You can do a lot of things that will confuse me Betty, but I will _always_ know when you are lying”.

She crosses her arms in front of her chest, bites her lip in frustration. “This… is just not fair, Archie”. Her voice breaks once again, but she fights the sadness away. “I wanted you for _so long_. And it’s not fair and it’s not right to bring this up again…not _now_ not after all these years”.

He just stands there and lets her speak, knowing that she is saying the truth.

“I love Jughead”. That is the truth. “And I won’t hurt him. I… just can’t, Archie.” 

“You love Jughead”, he repeats, voice silent and low, his eyes focused somewhere on the wall behind her. “… and yet, you kissed me”.

Her eyes fall on his lips for a second, before drifting to the ground in front of her. “… you love Veronica… and yet… you kissed me”, she simply replies.

She knows he caught her starring at his lips and can feel his eyes on her for the next few seconds.

“You love Jughead…”, he speaks with a low voice. “… but you kissed me because it felt right.” That isn’t even a question because they both know he is right with this. So, she just lets him speak. “… and you came here, because you are trying to figure out what this all means to you… just like I am trying to find out what is going through your head and what exactly I feel for you”.

“You’re wrong”, she answers, and knows if she is convincing enough, he won’t realize it’s a lie.

“Yes, I had a crush on you some years ago. But I got over it. I love Jughead – I _want_ to be with Jughead. I won’t ruin this just because you aren’t sure about your feelings, Archie”.

There is pain in his eyes, but he quickly covers it with a challenging smile. “So, I’m going to assume that you won’t tell him about the kiss?”

Betty shakes her head, tries to make herself believe that this is the right thing to do. “No. I won’t. And _please_ promise me, that you won’t tell Veronica”.

A silly laugh is coming out of his throat. “Common, Betty. You can’t ask me to do that”.

“You’re right… but I am _begging_ you, Archie”.

He falls silent by these words and for a moment they just look at each other, quietly wondering how they both got in such a mess.

“I can’t promise you this, Betty”, his voice is nearly a whisper and he looks away from her, hiding his broken expression from her.

“Okay…”. She knows she can’t ask for more in this moment and maybe this is all too much for her – she grabs her bag besides the chair and stumbles towards the ladder, trying to leave this conversation behind her as fast as possible.

“I know you felt it too”, he calls after her and for a moment she freezes in her motion, starring at the steps in front of her. “When we kissed… I know you felt the same that I did”.

The guilt is catching up to her and at this point she doesn’t even know what guilt exactly. Guilt because she cheated on her boyfriend? Guilt because she will keep this a secret? Or guilt because she really felt something during the kiss?

She can hear her own heartbeat in her ears as she climbs up the stairs and runs… runs until the bunker is far behind her… runs until she nearly collapses on the streets of Riverdale… runs until the tears are running down her cheeks and her breathing comes out in heavy chokes.

_She could run all day – but Archie’s words would follow her till the end of the world._

After that day Betty keeps the curtains in her room closed.

And even after days of distracting herself, she still can’t get Archie and the images of him out of her head.

 _Maybe I’m going crazy_ ; she thinks.

Or maybe it was finally time to let the past go. With that thought in her head, Betty enters her room two days after her fight with Archie in the bunker. Unerringly she walks towards the shelfs on the left side of the room, grabbing all of her old diaries at once.

_I have to destroy them._

Maybe she wasn’t even thinking clear anymore. But fear, guilt, love and denial are a dangerous mixture for a girl that that doesn’t even know what she wants.

But there is one big mistake that you can make, when you want to get rid of something… you shouldn’t look at it too long before throwing it away.

That’s the exact mistake Betty Cooper makes, while staring at the little books in her arms.

_Maybe I should read them one more time._

Betty was always a very passioned diary author. She wrote a lot of things inside these little books over the years, topics like growing up, heartbreak, friendship, family drama, school problems and many more… but reading them today made her clear that there has always been one red thread cutting through all of them, connecting them like one big book series.

Her red thread is called Archie Andrews.

He was the first thing she wrote about in her very first diary. And he is, without a doubt, the person she wrote the most about.

_Bettys plan of burning the diaries in the fireplace changed within minutes._

Hours passed while Betty read book after book, her eyes hovering over every single word. It’s been years since the stories in her diaries happened, but she still remembers every little detail about them.

_Betty and Archie when they first met._

_Archie and Betty listening to music in his room, laying on the floor, their little hands intertwined with each other._

_Betty and Archie playing on the streets every day, until the night came around._

_Betty teaching Archie how to read._

_Archie and Betty sharing their first kiss._

_Archie proposing to Betty in second grade._

There are even more stories, but Betty doesn’t need to read them anymore. Tears glitter in her eyes as she jumps up from the floor, grabbing her phone from the night table.

**Where are you? – _Betty Cooper, 5:23pm_**

It only takes two minutes until she gets a reply.

**At the gym. – _Archie Andrews, 5:25pm_**

She is about to answer, when she gets a second message from him.

**Is everything alright? – _Archie Andrews, 5:26pm_**

A small smile appears on Bettys face, because _of course_ he still cares for her and _of course_ he is instantly worried. 

**Meet me at the bunker in 30 minutes? – Betty Cooper, 5:27pm**

She is already on her way down the stairs when she gets a reply. 

**On my way – _Archie Andrews, 5:27pm_**

This time the way to the bunker feels much shorter and Betty is more than glad that she didn’t run into any family members while leaving the house. Jughead is working on Charles case again, still searching for the video tape guy so at least she didn’t have to explain why she is leaving the house alone.

She arrives at the bunker first, climbing down the stairs in her jeans dress, ponytail swinging behind her, as she walks through the small room, lighting several candles and a few lamps.

It feels weird to be back here. The last time she has been in this room she was fighting with Archie… funny that she is the one calling him back here this time.

Betty sits down on the old bed, starring at the table in front of her. She still doesn’t know what exactly she wants from Archie… but she certainly knows more than two days ago.

_She needs him in her life. That is a truth that she can’t hide any longer._

Minutes go by and the silence is ringing in Bettys ears.

She lays down on the bed completely, starring at the ceiling as she _finally_ hears footsteps coming down the ladder. 

“Betty?”

It takes a moment until he finds her laying on the bed and she sits up, smiling at him in a diffident way. His eyebrows are drawn together, like always when he’s confused.

“Hey… is everything alright?” His voice sounds breathless as he walks towards the bed, looking down at her with a worried expression. “I came here as fast as I could”.

“I know”, she answers. “Thank you”.

He waits for more, is expecting an explanation for her messages and she taps on the free space beside her, signaling him to lie down with her. He hesitates a moment, probably asking himself if this is the right thing to do and she shoots him a look, pleading him to stay with her.

So, he lays down beside her, leaving just enough space between them that he isn’t touching her, and her breath quickens as the electricity between them rises immeasurably.

“You were right”, she whispers to him, both of them looking at the ceiling, minds and hearts racing. “You were right about the things you said to me, two days ago… I did kiss you because it felt right… and…”. He stays silent while she searches for the right words. “…and I did feel something while we kissed. I… I felt it… and I pushed it to the side, I… didn’t want to admit it”.

Her soft words echo against the stone walls and silence is falling over them for a minute.

“I know”, he finally speaks, his low and raspy voice sending shivers down her skin.

Her words are shaking as she adds: “And… I’m scared, Arch”.

Another moment of silence.

“I know that too”. The pillow rustles and he is turning his head so he can look at her. “So… what are we going to do, now?”

She turns her head, facing him directly, amazed by the closeness they share.

“Can we just lay here?” Her voice is barely a whisper, eyes shining in the dim candlelight and she can see the softness in his dark eyes, watches the minimal smile in the curve of his lips.

_Lay with me. Because I don’t want to miss you any longer._

“Of course, Betty”.

They stay like this what feels like hours, slowly breathing, listening to each other’s heartbeat.

 _How did we end up here_ ; Betty asks herself. How was it possible, that her best friend had such an impact on her, after all these years?

“Archie… why are we here?”, she whispers, looking back at the ceiling.

He understands her question without looking at her, eyes still on her, voice still low: “I don’t know… but it’s nice… right?”

His hand searches for hers and she doesn’t even try to fight against the shivers on her body or the electricity between them.

Their hands interlock with each other and she closes her eyes, enjoys the warm feeling inside her.

They stay like this for hours, walking on the fine line between their relationships, bending the rules little by little, never kissing, never really touching… just holding each other’s hands like they are back in kindergarten, sharing stories and just enjoying each other’s company.

And when they leave the bunker together and Archie reaches for her hand, leading her through the dark forest she isn’t even scared anymore.

The consequences will be destructive, and she will probably go to hell for this.

_Because Betty Cooper isn’t perfect._

_But walking on Archie Andrew’s side, makes her feel like maybe… someday… she finally could be._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big Thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter - getting feedback always puts the biggest smile on my face!  
> Hope you liked this chapter. Can't wait till 4x18 airs next week...
> 
> Stay healthy! :)


	3. When everything starts breaking dow

Betty and Archie aren’t bad people. They are good people… good people that do bad things sometimes.

Living in Riverdale means that at one point you have to pay for all the mistakes you did.

But where exactly is the line between wrong, and right? Sometimes this fine line is so small that you can’t even tell if you’re doing something right or wrong.

_Kissing someone even though you are in a relationship is a wrong._

_Kissing someone who is in a relationship is also wrong._

Betty Cooper knows all those things. She also knows that thinking about her best friend Archie Andrews in a romantic way is wrong. Looking at him through the bedroom window every evening is wrong. Smiling at him during classes is also wrong. Feeling jealous whenever he is around Veronica Lodge is so, so wrong.

And yet, Betty Cooper did all those things, intentionally - or not.

Loving Jughead Jones is right.

She tries to remember that every time Jughead looks at her, takes her in his arms or presses soft kisses on her lips, mumbling loving words against her ears.

One week has passed since she met Archie in the bunker. One week full of school stress, hectic and trying to avoid Archie as much as possible.

Yes, just days ago she came to the realization that she needs Archie in her life. And it’s true that she can’t deny her feelings for him anymore. But that doesn’t change the fact that she is still in a relationship with Jughead and Archie is still with Veronica. New feelings don’t erase old ones, that is something that both of them had to learn pretty quickly.

So, what do you do, when you have no clue what to do next?

The answer is you try to figure things out, while doing the least damage possible.

Which means you once again have to push your feelings to the side, while trying to focus on the overall picture.

Betty and Archie won’t hurt Veronica and Jughead – that is their first priority.

Slowly falling for someone while being in a relationship hurts, but this would be nothing compared to how their partners would feel, if they would find out about the kiss.

And so, the days passed by in a crushing fast speed, leaving the students of Riverdale High in a constant state of stress.

Betty knew that the time right before the final exams would be hard… but in all the years leading up to this moment she never thought about that she would have two big problems in her life.

Trying to keep up with the learning material – and trying to get Archie out of her mind.

It is clear that someday they will have to figure all this out. What the kiss or the meetings in the bunker mean to both of them.

But they both know that now isn’t the right time to shake things up even more while the everyday life around them is already tricky enough. Throwing a bomb on an already burning town wouldn’t be a smart move.

So, they keep themselves busy and drift through days full of studying and sleeping, always turned away from the windows in their bedrooms.

April becomes May and the already warm temperatures seem to rise a little bit day by day. It’s not unusual for Riverdale to get some early summery days at this time of the year, some people believe that the nature itself is trying to bring some sort of balance or even compensation for the autumn and winter days full of rain, fog and snow.

The morning sun is shining through the school entrance as Betty Cooper is entering the hallway on this Thursday morning, dressed in some simple jeans with a black shirt tugged within, her hair falling around her shoulders in blonde, lose waves, a soft smile on her lips as she spots her boyfriend standing at his locker.

“Hey, Jug.” They share a short kiss and she leans at the locker door beside him. “Where have you been this morning? I called you but you didn’t answer, and your dad said you left the house early…”.

He searches for some books in his backpack, grabbing some loose documents. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell Betty but… we found something interesting on the new video tapes and-“

“So you left the house at 6 in the morning to watch those weird tapes at Charles office?”, she interrupts him, voice sharp and low.

“Betty…”.

“Please tell me that you read the pages I gave to you and that you studied for the exam today”.

He doesn’t even need to say anything, she can see his answer in the way his face turns into a sad grimace.

“Oh god”, she mumbles, pushing herself off of the locker behind her, walking down the school hallway.

“Betty wait”. Within seconds he is beside her again, his hands brushing nervously through his hair. “I am prepared for this test, I just…”.

“But this is not just a test”, she explains, her words loud enough that he can hear the anger in her voice. “I just can’t have the same conversation over and over again, Jughead”.

His brows fold together and he shoots her a questioning look.

“I’m so tired of saying the same things over and over again… I told you to study for this exam Jug, not because I thought you weren’t smart enough but because I want you to graduate with me. But then you turn around and throw the possibility a future with me away, turning to some creepy tapes that no one even cares about anymore!”

“Woah… wait”. A silly laugh escapes his lips and he looks around to see if any other students are listening to their argument but everyone else seems to study on their own, faces buried in some documents and books. “Just because you don’t care about these tapes, doesn’t mean they are unimportant Betty.”

“I’m not saying they are unimportant! They are just not as important as your own graduation, Jug!”

“Well, maybe this is my thing to decide”, he simply answers and leaves her speechless for a few seconds. “You just don’t like the fact, that I make my own decisions. It’s my thing to say if I study all day long for some stupid test or if I want to solve some mystery that could be a possible danger for us”.

Anger swings in Bettys voice, while asking: “Aren’t you tired of always solving some mystery?! It’s our last year here together and you really want to throw that time away?”

“That’s my passion, Betty”, he simply states. “That’s one of the few things that I’m really good at and I won’t let you take this away from me just because it doesn’t fit in your perfect, little agenda you had planned for us”.

For a moment none of them speaks while some students walk past them, more and more voices filling the hallway minute by minute.

An angry and sad smile is appearing on Bettys face.

“Alright”, she says, turning around and walking down the hallway on her own.

“Then good luck on the exam later!”

This time he doesn’t follow her and she hates the fact that she couldn’t care less.

She doesn’t even know where exactly her feet are carrying her, but several minutes after walking through the school hallways she ends up in front the door of the music room.

 _Of course_ ; she thinks.

Without even thinking about it, her subconscious leads her not only to the place she wanted to be, but also to the person she wanted to see as well.

Slowly she opens the door, slips inside the room while the noises of the filled hallways vanish in the background. She quickly realizes that the room is completely empty and that she is more than happy with that. All she needs are a few minutes alone until the first class begins.

She sits down on the piano stool and throws her bag to the floor, her hands over her face and a silent cry coming from her lips.

This is a mess.

Senior year shouldn’t be like this.

_Maybe she should have known that he would come here. Maybe she knew that he always visited the music room before the first class in the morning. And maybe that’s the reason why she came here in the first place._

“Betty…?”

She looks up, a sad and shocked expression on her tired face as a lonely tear is running down her cheek.

Archie Andrews is standing at the door, his eyebrows raised at the surprise to see her here. As soon as he recognizes the destroyed look in her eyes, the door is closed and he stands besides her, his backpack landing on the floor right beside her own.

“Hey… what happened?”

Her answer is stuck in her throat as he kneels on the floor in front of her, trying to catch her gaze with his own.

“Betty… look at me”.

She takes a deep breath, wipes the tear away while her eyes land on his face in front of her. She hasn’t seen Archie for days and she knows how much she missed him by the way her heart feels like it could break apart any second by the view of his worried eyes on her.

I miss you; she wants to say. And I’m so tired of pretending everything is okay.

But instead she just puts a small smile on her lips. “I just had a fight with Jughead… that’s all. I’m fine”.

“Oh…” For a second his eyes fall on the floor and she would sell her own soul to know what he just thought about.

His presence right in front of her is so intense that she can’t even look him in the eyes. Her fingers are gripping at the corners of the chair she is sitting on, her face turning to the floor with a pained expression.

This is way harder than I thought it would be.

“Betty”, he speaks again but she can’t even bare to look up to him. “Are you sure you are alright?”

She simply shakes her head, still looking at the floor beneath them, unable to say a word.

“Hey…you know you can always talk to me”. His voice is soft and low and suddenly his fingers are on her chin, slowly lifting her face up so he can look in her teared-up eyes.

They’ve always been so close when they were younger. But this intimacy they share since a few weeks is new to both of them.

“I’m a mess”, she whispers, and he immediately shakes his head.

“No, you’re not Betty”.

A sad smile is appearing on her lips, tears still glittering in the corners of her eyes. “Yes, I am… and I don’t know how to change that”.

His fingers disappear from her chin, sweep over her cheek to brush some of her hair behind her ear. “What can I do Betty?”

She leans into his touch, closing her eyes for a short moment. “Help me to forget”, she whispers with a broken voice. “Help me to understand”.

This is more than wrong, and they already crossed the line minutes ago – but she can’t fight the feeling inside her circling through her chest as she opens her eyes and can see him already starring at her lips.

She watches his eyes linger over her mouth and how his head turns to the floor, slowly shaking with a silent laugh coming from his throat.

“I can’t”. His voice seems to shatter of sadness, and he laughs at the irony of all this.

“I would”, he adds slowly, looking back up again.

“And god, I want to”. His eyes are on her lips again and she can see the truth of his words in his eyes.

“But I can’t, because it’s wrong”. Suddenly he is standing up, his finger brushing through his hair as he turns away from her, a silent laugh still coming from his lips.

Maybe it’s his choice of words that brings the anger inside her back to life.

“You have no idea how sick I am of this word”, she answers; the pain and hurt hollowing in her voice. “I am so tired of hearing the word wrong”.

He turns back around to her as she stands up, their eyes meeting each other in the middle with much more intensity than just a few seconds ago.

“It’s wrong what we do”. Her voice is sharp and still breaking apart with every word she speaks. “It’s wrong that I keep secrets not only from Jughead, but also from Veronica… It’s wrong that we kissed and it’s so damn wrong that I… still don’t regret it”.

Sorrow is horrible but this… this is pure anger and somehow it makes her feel like burning up in flames within seconds.

Her words are filling the music room and Archie is just standing there, letting her speak all the things that are going through her head.

“It’s been days since that kiss happened and everything I do still feels like it’s wrong”. Bettys voice gets louder with every word she says; the fire in her eyes lighting up with every second that passes.

“Betty, listen I…”

“No, you listen to me”, she interrupts him as soon as he opens his mouth. “You have no fucking idea how hard the last few days have been for me”.

“You don’t think that it was hard for me too?” This time he is the one interrupting her, his voice also louder than minutes before. “You think this is easy for me, Betty?! I’m lying to my girlfriend every day and just like you I’m lying to my best friend as well! You are not the only one who doesn’t know what to do”.

He never wanted to shout at her like that but in this moment, he doesn’t even care anymore. He can see the emotions in her eyes as she stares at him and he can see how her chest is slowly rising and falling from her heavy breathing.

“I hate this situation, Archie!” She answers with direct words and pain in her voice. “I hate everything about it… I hate that I am lying to Jughead and I… I”.

Suddenly, she is silent, and she knows that he sees how she keeps the rest of the words to herself and how there are many things on her mind that she wants to say but she can’t bring herself to speak them out loud.

“What?” he asks way harsher than he wanted to, taking a step in her direction while he speaks.

Her eyes never leave his own and she doesn’t back away even though he is just an arm-length away from her.

“I… I hate that I still like you, even after all those years”, she spits the words at him but she can feel herself slowly breaking apart under the mask she wears and she just knows that he can see the pain and sorrow and maybe even some kind of desire laying under all those anger in her eyes.

Bettys voice is still loud as she adds: “I hate that we are dealing with this now and not three years ago… I mean why didn’t you want me back then Archie?!” Her voice breaks but she is more furious than sad, and she is glad that she can finally say the things she held back all those years. “I gave you my heart at the prom night and you just threw it away. I was devastated, Archie! And I moved on and I had Jughead and everything fell into place… but now everything is just a mess. I hate that I have those feelings and I hate that I feel so helpless right now”.

She doesn’t see the way he looks at her or how he gets closer with every word she speaks, she only looks into his dark eyes, her mind circling through all the anger and sadness inside her.

“… and I hate that I want you even though it’s wrong and you don’t even seem to care about all of this an-“

He cuts her off with taking one more step towards her, catching her lips with his own and in the first few seconds she is in absolute shock.

The storm of emotions inside Betty becomes slower and calmer as Archie pulls her towards him, his hands pressing her body against his chest, his lips slowly moving against her own.

“Archie…”. His name lies on her tongue and he just shakes his head, his right hand cupping her cheek.

“Don’t”, he simply breathes out, letting go of her face for a few seconds to look her in the eyes. “Stop speaking Betty, I don’t want to hear another reason why this is wrong”.

He kisses her again, more passioned than before and she starts to wonder why something so wrong can feel so right at the same time.

Maybe this is the answer to all her questions; she thinks as she just closes her eyes and is letting go, letting herself fall against him, her arms brushing around his back, her fingers clinging into his white shirt.

She wants to cry and scream, wants to laugh and to love – all of that in the same time.

Her head feels dizzy as he picks her off the ground without any warning and she is clinging to his body, a surprised shriek coming from her lips.

He laughs against her ear as he puts her down on the piano behind her, steadies her by holding her around her waist.

“Scared?” He laughs, his voice a silent mumble as her bright eyes look up at him, excitement mirroring his own expression.

She just shakes her head while her blonde hair dances around her shoulders and she reaches up to kiss him again, her legs closing around his waist.

He hums against her lips and she knows he can feel the shivers on her skin as his arms reach around her waist and he is pulling her towards him, leaving no space between them.

Every doubt, every question leaves Bettys mind completely, there is only Archie right in front of her, softly smiling into the kiss, and she knows that he can feel this too. Maybe this is his way to make her shut her mouth, maybe this is his way to cheer her up. But maybe it’s something he hadn’t planned at all and came crushing down to him just a moment ago.

Maybe he needs this just as much as she does.

The temperature in the room seems to increase with every second and she realizes that they are not only crossing the lines…they are breaking them apart in this exact moment.

She can feel her heartbeat in every vein inside her body and her breath getting stuck in her throat as Archie’s lips leave her own and find their way over her face down to her neck.

A silent cry is coming from her lips as his tongue is brushing over the soft skin right under her ear and she can feel his smile against her neck caused by her unintended reaction.

Archie is one of the few persons on earth she knows the best. He is familiar in every single way.

But this side of him is something that she didn’t know about until now and the curiosity overweight’s the reluctance considerably.

She wants to see more of this part of him, wants to learn more about this loving and eager Archie and she knows by the way his fingers are pressing into her skin that he seems to want the exact same thing.

The sound of their breathing is ringing in her ears and she can’t help but biting her bottom lip as he suddenly releases one of his hands from her back and his fingers find their way under her black shirt, his fingertips slowly stroking over the soft skin of her waist.

Her eyes flutter shut by his touch and she can feel his lips disappear from her neck completely. She doesn’t even need to open her eyes to know that he is looking at her, watching her reaction to every single touch he leaves on her skin.

Slowly his fingers move up and stop right underneath her bra, his fingertips circling in careful moves over the sensitive skin, hovering over her chest but never actually touching her enough to cross more lines than they already did.

Her fingers are gripping in the fabric of his shirt and their lips meet again in the middle as suddenly the school bell starts ringing with an enormous volume.

The sound is so loud that Betty freezes in her action, her finger leaving some marks on Archie’s arms and his back by mistake.

For a moment they just stare at each other.

She looks at his messed-up hair and the dark color in his eyes.

He watches how she gasps for air and how her mouth slightly opens by the realization what she just did.

The ringing ends and the sound of the students in the hallway creeps through the closed doors.

Seconds pass where they just stare at each other, still holding each other like they are frozen. Then, all the sudden, they let go of each other.

Archie takes a small step back and Betty tries to repress the empty feeling on her skin as his hand leaves her waist and she puts her shirt back down, jumping off the piano and lands on shaky feet.

They stand in front of each other like two sides of the same coin.

Both confused.

Both helpless.

Both doing something _wrong_.

Betty is searching for the right thing to say but not one single word leaves her mouth as she stares up at him.

Archie knows by the way she looks at him, that she won’t say anything. He clears his throat, tries to suppress the emotions and passion inside him and reaches out to touch her face.

His fingers sweep across her cheek for a short moment and he brushes one of her blonde curls behind her ear.

“I won’t touch you again”, he says with a low and slow voice. “I won’t touch you as long as you’re still in a relationship”, he clarifies, catching the mixed feelings in Betty’s eyes.

“I know”. Her voice is broken and a sad but also understanding smile is appearing in the curves of her lips. “And I know this is wrong… I’m sorry, Arch”. She crosses her arms in front of her chest, choosing a standing position that makes her feel stronger.

“Don’t be sorry”, he replies, starring at her face one last time, his eyes hanging over her lips for a second too long. He takes a few steps to the side, grabbing both of their backpacks from the floor.

“I know we fucked up, Betty”. He hands her her bag, the emotions on his face speaking so much more than his words actually say. “But it doesn’t always have to be wrong, you know?”

She takes her bag, slowly breathing in and breathing out, her hands still shaky from the minutes before. She knows that he can see how affected she is by all of this, but he doesn’t say a word about it while they walk to the door side by side.

“Archie…” She stops him as he wants to open the door, her fingertips laying on his arm for a few seconds. “You… you are not mad at me?”

He looks confused about her insecure voice. “Why should I?”

“Because… all of this. Yelling at you… kissing you…”.

“Betty…”. He shakes his head and opens the door with a big swing, telling her to follow him to the hallway. “… trust me, you did nothing wrong. And about the kissing part…”.

The door falls shut behind them and they leave the music room behind their backs, returning to reality with slow steps, ignoring the intense electricity that is still lingering between them.

“… it takes more than one person for something like that… and I don’t think you are the one to blame”.

Archie isn’t going home after school this day.

As soon as the school bell rings and all the students leave the building like bees escaping their hive, he grabs his backpack and walks down the streets of Riverdale to a house he knows very well since a few years.

The sun is disappearing behind the grey clouds the seconds he reaches the Lodge estate.

He doesn’t even know what to say or what to think when he rings the doorbell, hands buried in his pockets, mind focused.

“ _Archiekins_ … I didn’t know you were coming over this early!”

Veronica is pressing a short kiss to his lips and invites him inside. He follows the clinking noise of her high heels into the living room, watches her sitting down on one of the many armchairs. She has several pages of school notes spread out in front of her on the small living room table and puts her reading glasses on her nose as she speaks: “Why didn’t you tell me that you wanted to come over right after school. I would have waited for you and we could have driven here together”.

Slowly he sits down on one of the chairs on the other side of the table, clearing his voice to speak. “Actually I… I hadn’t planned on coming here Ronnie, but…”.

She knows immediately that something is off about the way he speaks so she looks up at him with much more concern in her eyes than seconds before. “What’s wrong?”

He just stares at her for a short moment, searching for the right words to say. “I need to tell you something, Veronica. And I need to tell you this today because… I can’t keep this from you any longer”.

She puts her reading glasses on the table in front of her and folds her hands on her knees, her dark eyes shining at him. “Tell me”, she simply says, her voice tarnished with caution and concern.

For a few seconds no one says a word, only the loud ticking noise of the clock on the wall echoes through the room.

“I kissed Betty”. The words come out of his mouth before he can think about it too much and he watches her strict facemask fall immediately.

“It was at the night when we were fighting about how your father was going to my gym and how I didn’t tell you about that… Betty showed up to rehearsal alone and we sang a song together and… then we kissed”.

She stays silent while her nearly black eyes stare at him in disbelieve, her dark red lips forming in a thin line. “Are you… are you serious right now Archie?” He watches disbelieve and anger running over her face and she puts on a smiling grimace. “You’re only messing with me, aren’t you?” She laughs and he just stares at her, stares at the emotional disaster right in front of him.

“This is just some stupid prank, isn’t it?”

She keeps laughing and he shakes his head. “No, Ronnie… It’s true”.

The smile on her face shrinks. “No, it’s not”, she replies with a sharp voice. “Because if this would be true… you wouldn’t just sit here and tell me this. You wouldn’t have this look on your face that you have right now… you would be crying and would be begging me for my forgiveness… you… you would look way more sorry than you do right now, Archie”.

He just looks at her with a sad expression and somehow, she finally starts to understand. He can see the truth finding its way into her head and he watches how the smile on her face fades away.

“You… you’re saying the truth”. It’s not a question but he nods either way. “You and Betty… kissed… _again_ ”.

It’s the _again_ that sounds like a word born in hell and he knows that she finally understands when she is jumping off from her seat and just stares at him, her hands shaking and her voice trembling. “I… I can’t even describe you… how I feel right now”.

He can hear her teeth crunch on each other while she speaks and ne knows that there is more anger than sadness in her voice.

“You fucking bastard, Archie Andrews!”

He just looks at her and his heart breaks for the dark-haired girl in front of him.

“I never meant to hurt you, Veronica”.

She laughs, turning around on her heels and starts walking up and down the room, hell fire itself burning in her eyes when she looks at him. “Oh, I know Archie, I know… because you are such a nice guy, aren’t you?! You never mean to hurt anyone, right? That’s why you can’t even say no when your best friend Betty Cooper looks at you for a few seconds too long, asking for a kiss from her childhood-sweetheart, right?!”

She laughs again, throwing her hands in the air. “You two are unbelievable! I mean does the word _loyal_ mean anything to you? I thought you were better Archie… I… I really thought you learned something from the last time Betty kissed you… sweet little Betty… innocent and pure… but always trying to steal your man behind your back”.

He told himself that he would just let her speak but this time he just has to say something. “It’s not just Bettys fault”, he says, and she stops walking for a moment and stares at him. “I kissed her too… I _wanted_ to kiss her too”.

His words echo through the air and Veronica just stands there, watching him with wide eyes.

“So that’s the explanation”, she finally says while walking back to the chair, letting herself fall on the soft furniture. “That’s the reason why I’m not hearing any _I am sorry Veronica_ , or _It won’t happen again_ , this time”.

“What do you mean?”

The anger in her eyes is replaced with sadness and her voice is much calmer than the minutes before. “The last time when you and Betty kissed… you told me it didn’t mean anything… you were pleading me to forgive you. But this time you didn’t say anything like that… because you aren’t sorry that it happened… you’re just sorry that it hurt me”.

He never though that she would find out the truth so easily and it amazes him how simple the words come over her lips.

Veronica laughs again, her eyes are closed for a moment. “I should have known better”, she simply says, shaking her head in disbelieve. “I should have known that this kind of feelings never truly leave”.

“No… Ronnie, listen to me. I never felt something for Betty during the time when you and I were together”.

“I know”, she answers with a neutral voice. “And I bet Betty didn’t feel anything for you as well… but damn, I was so blind. I should have known that there is something between you, after your first kiss in that damn car… I’m so stupid”.

“You’re not stupid Ronnie”, he interrupts her with a soft voice. “You don’t deserve any of this...”.

“You’re right”. She nods and for a moment, he can see her facade break apart. “I don’t deserve this… and Jughead doesn’t deserve this as well”.

It feels like the guilt inside him is eating him alive and his eyes fall to the floor. “None of you deserves this… and I’m so sorry, Ronnie.”

There is a single tear in her dark eyes that runs down her cheek in slow motion and he knows her so well that he can tell by this fact alone, that she might cry if he says something else.

“And what now?” Her voice is an angry whisper as she stares at the table in front of her, her eyes focused on of her books. “What are we going to do now, that you _cheated_ on me, _Archiekins_?”

He swallows by the ice in her voice while fully knowing that she has every right to feel this way.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me, Ronnie. I just wanted you to know what happened”.

It’s silence for a few minutes as he tries to read something out of her expression, tries to find the right words to say.

“You feel something for her”.

Veronica’s words are hanging in the air like poison and he is afraid if he takes another breath he will die right here, right now. His heart is beating much faster than the minutes before and he knows she can see the nervousness in his eyes.

“I don’t know, Veronica”.

She rolls her eyes, reaches up to wipe one of her tears away.

“You don’t know? Alright, then let me make this simple for you… was that the only time you two kissed in the last weeks?”

The air leaves his lungs as he stares at her in shock. “We… we kissed one more time…”.

She laughs again, her hair falling on her back as she looks up to the ceiling, blinking away some of her tears. “Well, there is your goddamn answer, Archie”.

After a beat of silence, he asks: “How… how did you know this?”

She locks eyes with him and he tries to hold on to the bond he once shared with this beautiful girl. But it feels like the more he tries to hold on, the more this invisible line between them seems to disappear, leaving them with nothing but memories.

“I didn’t really know”, she answers with less anger in her voice than before. “But you seemed so distracted these last few days… I thought that it was because of the finals and all the exams in school… thinking back, I probably should have been more aware of the fact that you looked at me with… with less and less love in your eyes”.

He shakes his head, pain in his eyes. “Veronica, believe me, I never-“

“You never wanted to hurt me”, she finishes with a broken smile on her face. “I get it Archie. I heard you the first time.” New tears are filling her eyes but she wipes them away before they can run down her cheeks. “I can’t see that I didn’t saw this coming years ago… I always knew that you and Betty were close. But I never thought that you two could be so damn selfish”.

It feels like his own heart is breaking with hers as he stands up and walks towards her, trying to comfort her during pain that he caused.

“Oh no, don’t you dare to touch me again, Archie”. Her voice is loud again, her words echoing through the air like a spell. She stands up, walking away from him, her arms crossing in front of her chest. “I said that I should have known better, not that I will ever forgive you for what you did!”

He freezes in place, lets her speak while trying not to break by the sight of her pained expression.

“I loved you Archie”, she whispers under tears.

“I loved you too”, he replies with a silent voice and she shakes her head in disbelieve.

“Maybe… maybe you really loved me, Archie. But the truth is that you always loved Betty more. In a platonic or romantic way doesn’t even matter anymore.”

He can’t even say anything against that because somewhere deep down inside him he knows… she is right.

Archie watches her as she looks out of the window for a moment. “To be true, I was expecting that we would part ways sometime during this school year”, she admits with a heartbroken look on her face. “I knew that a long distance relationship wasn’t something that would work for us. That’s the reason I asked you to just have fun with me this last few months… I knew that our time was slowly coming to an end.”

She turns back to him, watching him with much more intensity than before, a small curve on the side of her lips. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you just broke my heart”.

He knows that some part of him breaks with her in this very moment and he has to fight his own tears for a few seconds. “I love you, Ronnie”. His voice is barely a whisper.

A sad smile appears on her face, one lonely tear finding its way down her cheek. “But you love her more”.

He can’t say anything but they both know that the silence is also an answer.

“I want to show you something, before I kick you out of my house”, she suddenly says, walking around the furniture to reach for a small box on the dinner table.

She comes back to the living room table, handing him the box with an empty expression. “Open it”.

Nervousness is creeping up in him and he slowly opens the box, finding a black video tape inside it. His eyes grow wide, his voice is breathless. “Ronnie, this is-“

“A new tape. I know. I wanted to watch it right before you came here… I thought it would be just some new video of my house but I have a numb feeling that after what you just told me, this could be something entirely different”. Her voice isn’t as pained as it was the minutes before and he is glad that she looks nearly normal as she takes the tape and puts it in her video recorder.

They stand in front of her TV, starring at the black screen as suddenly – colors appear. It takes just minutes until they both see what is in front of them.

“Oh my god, Archie... is that...” Veronicas voice beside him is nearly a scream as they both watch him and Betty dance over the screen in front of them, singing into one microphone.

“This… this is a tape of our kiss”, Archie realizes, his voice breathless. “Someone got into my garage, Ronnie! This means whoever is making these video tapes is getting into buildings now, whoever made this, sneaked into my house!”

Her eyes grow wide beside him and she slowly turns to him. “Archie… Jughead also got one new tape”. Her voice is nearly a whisper. “I texted him just before you showed up here, because he is working on this case with Charles. He told me he also got a tape and I’m… I’m starting to believe that he might got the exact same one as I did”.

There is another beat of silence between them and Archie can feel his own blood running through his veins.

“Someone wanted to show me your kiss with Betty”, Veronica adds slowly. “And I bet that someone send Jughead the exact same tape to show him your kiss with Betty”.

_Betty._

“Jughead can’t find out on this way”, he says in a low voice. “He… he wouldn’t understand he… Betty needs to tell him on her own”.

“That’s the only thing that we two agree on”, she simply adds, turning the TV off the second Betty and Archie’s lips meet on the screen in front of her. “And now get the hell out of my house Archie…”.

They lock eyes one more time, his sad expression meeting her pained one as she puts on a brave face to direct him to the door. “Leave Archie. I don’t want to see you one more second in my house… and don’t you dare to look at me once in school in the next days… or I will tell my Dad what happened between us and he will haunt you till the end of the world”.

“I’m sorry, Veronica…”.

She looks away as he turns around. “ _Go_ ”.

He leaves the room and she smashes the door behind him.

  
While he hurries down the stairs he can hear the sound of books flying through the room, glass shattering in the distance and the cry of a girl he once loved more than his life.

Hurting Veronica was _wrong_.

He runs out of the house and down the street, his mind circling around everything that happened today.

Thinking about Betty in this moment is _wrong_.

He pulls his cellphone out of his pocket, tries to call her 4 times until he gives up.

“Fuck”, he mumbles to himself as he starts to run down the streets, praying to god that Jughead won’t watch the tape before Betty talks to him.

_I’m sorry_ ; he thinks to himself.

_I’m sorry Veronica. I never meant to hurt you._

_I’m sorry Jughead. I never wanted to break your trust._

_I’m sorry Betty. I never should have let you go in the first place._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a little tricky to write. I'm still not sure how I feel about the cheating situation, but now that Archie told Veronica about the kiss it feels a lot better to write about it haha :)
> 
> Thank you so so much for all the comments for the last chapter!  
> And a huge thank you to all the people who left a Kudo for this story <3  
> I'm still not very good in writing in english and to get such positive feedback means a lot to me - so thank you!! <3
> 
> I really hope you guys liked this chapter... I'm still not very happy about this one... I'll write the next one as soon as possible! :)
> 
> Stay safe and healty everybody!!


	4. Luck has led you here

“Betty! Honey, how was the exam today? You feel like you did well?”

The voice of Alice Cooper is filling the living room as soon as Betty steps through the door. “God, mom”, she sights, closing the door behind her. “I just came back from school… let me rest for a few seconds before you start bombing me with all your questions”.

The smell of pasta is in the air, as Betty walks through the house.

“The exam went well”, she finally answers while watching her mom throwing some spaghetti into the pot on the stove. “Have you seen Jughead? I haven’t seen him since this morning, and he wanted to walk home with me after school”.

“No, I have no idea”. Alice is focused on the pan full of gravy and she just looks at Betty for a short moment. “I can ask FP, if you want”.

“No… no”, she replies a little too hastily, turning around while she speaks. “I will just call him…”.

“Alright… do you want to eat something? We will have lunch in a few minutes, if you want to eat as well…”.

“Thanks mom, but I’ll eat later, okay? I need to do some school stuff first”.

Betty is already out of the kitchen when her mom calls “okay… but don’t forget to eat at all, Elisabeth!” after her, her worried voice following her up the stairs.

She sights as she enters her room, shutting the door behind her to escape every sound and noise outside of these four walls.

_Just breath._

With shaky hands she throws her bag to the floor beside the door, slow steps taking her towards her dressing table. Her own eyes are watching her as she sits down in front of the mirror, starring at her tired face.

_What have I done?_

The memories of the whole day are flashing in her mind. The fight with Jughead… the kiss with Archie…

She doesn’t even realize that she is raising her hand until her own fingertips are resting on her lips for a few seconds, creating a clear flashback to the moment in the music room, hours ago.

_What have we done?_

Her fingers are brushing over her own skin, following the line from her lips towards her neck and for a second it feels like his lips are still all over her.

Her hand falls down again, her blue-green eyes staring at her reflection in front of her.

 _This had to end_ ; she thinks. _This has to end today._

She stands up and walks to the door again, reaching for the cellphone in her bag.

**One missed call – _Archie Andrews 3:11pm_**

**One missed call – _Archie Andrews 3:12pm_**

**One missed call – _Archie Andrews 3:14pm_**

She can feel the adrenaline and fear rise inside her. _What the hell happened?_

Her fingers are moving over the screen and she is just about to call him back as her bedroom door flies open.

“Jug! Oh my god” A hesitant smile appears on Bettys face as she watches her boyfriend walk into the room. “You scared me for a second”.

He doesn’t respond, he just walks past her to the middle of the room and then stops to turn back to her, his eyes staring at her not only with rage, but also with _knowledge_.

“Are… are you alright?” Her question shatters against his cold gaze and it seems like the temperature in the room is falling rapidly, making Betty freeze in her position. “Jughead…?”

He looks at her like he wants to scream and in the same time he looks absolutely devastated, trying to find the right words to say to her.

Maybe she already knows what made him this upset but the fear and denial inside her is bigger than the untold truth right before her eyes.

“Is there anything you want to tell me Betty?”

His words are much quieter than she expected them to be, but she can see the anger boiling in his eyes.

“Is there something I should know?”, he asks again, his voice sharper than before. “My dear _girlfriend_?”

For a moment the silence between them is loaded with emotions and Betty can hear her own blood flow ringing in her ears. Her voice is barely a whisper, the words leave her mouth in silent sobs. “Jug… I wanted to tell you”.

“You wanted to tell me _what_ exactly?”, he asks immediately, getting louder with every word he speaks.

She doesn’t answer and a silly laugh is coming from his lips. “Oh common, Betty… tell me.”

Tears are clouding her vision and her fingers are clasped around the cellphone in her hand in a painful way. “I can’t”.

“You can’t? Alright, then I will do the talking for you”.

She fights the pain in her chest as she watches him walk around the room like a wounded dog, desperately trying to hold himself together.

“You are the one who yells at me, for not studying enough”, he begins, the silent laugh on his lips again. “You are the one who makes a scene whenever I do something that you don’t like…”.

His eyes meet hers again and the way she can feel his pain makes the tears in her eyes run down her cheeks.

“… you tell me that our future is important and that we have to do everything in our power that we will graduate together” A sad smile appears on his face. “… and then you turn around and throw yourself into Archie’s arms”.

Her hands brush over her face, wiping away the tears. “Jug, it’s not like that”.

“Oh, really? Then tell me how it is, Betty”, he simply replies. “Tell me why you keep kissing the guy that is _only_ your best friend. Tell me what went through your pretty, little head in the moment when you two were making out in his damn garage”.

Her heart drops to her feet and she stares up to him, watching the sorrow falling over his face.

“How… how do you even…”, she mumbles but he interrupts her.

“How I found out? I got a tape that recorded this pretty spectacle”, he answers. “But that doesn’t even matter, because I am here to hear from you why you did it, Betty”.

Her mouth falls shut as he keeps starring at her, expecting the answer to a question that she kept asking herself the last few days repeatedly. “I don’t know”, she whispers.

“You don’t know why you kissed him?” His face stays cold. “Let’s see… maybe you tripped and fell onto his face. Maybe it was just another _my-life-is-in-danger kiss_ … to hell with this damn excuse. Maybe you wanted to get back at me for watching the video tapes instead of doing my homework”.

The words are tumbling on her lips while her heart is beating loud in her chest. “No Jug, that… that is not true.” Another sob, another tear on her cheek. “I would never do something like this to hurt you or to get back at you”.

“Alright”, he shoots back at her, his lips forming into a thin line. “Alright… let’s say that I believe you. That leaves us with the last option on why you did it”.

He waits for her to say something to that, but he quickly realizes she won’t say anything.

“You kissed him because you have feelings for him”.

His words hit her right in the face, and she closes her eyes to shield herself from the broken look on his face.

“You _still_ have feelings for him”. His silent laughter is filled with pain. “You… you _lied_ to me Betty”.

“No, I didn’t”, she answers, eyes open again, voice still fluttering. “I never lied to you Jughead.”

“Yeah? Then let me remind you of the time when we two were in the bunker. I asked you if you felt anything while you were kissing Archie and you lied to my face”.

She looks away again while he adds: “You fucking knew that I was insecure about all this fake-dating thing and then you turned around and did the one thing I was scared of the last 3 years!”

“I never meant to hurt you Jughead”. That’s the truth and she can see that a part of him believes her as she looks back at him.

“But you did”. The stone-cold mask on his face is breaking apart little by little and she can see the sadness and rage coming to the surface.

“I never planned to kiss him”, she whispers.

“And yet you did it”. The truth falls over them like a heavy cloth, envelops them with clarity and raw pain. She can feel how they are slowly drifting apart, can see the distance between them getting bigger and bigger with every word they throw at each other. Hurting Jughead was never the plan and she can feel the sadness grow in every part of her body while she tries to hold on to something that feels like it is already lost.

“I love you”. She knows that she still loves him, but somehow all her words lost their meaning, that she can’t even reach him anymore and all she can do is watch the disaster unfold in front of her.

“And yet… you fell for him”.

They both know that he is saying the truth, yet somehow the whole scenery feels unreal.

She closes her eyes for a few seconds and is concentrating on her breathing, feeling her wet lashes on her cheeks and her lips trembling while she speaks: “Jug, _please_ … let me explain everything”.

He just stares at her when she looks at him, silently waiting for her following words.

“I am so… so sorry Jughead. You have to believe me that I never wanted any of this… I never planned on kissing Archie and I… I still don’t know how it even happened. I damn well know that this was more than wrong, and I know you have every right to be mad at me… but I want you to know that I love you.”

A beat of silence follows her words. “And I still love you, Jughead”.

And then, after some seconds passed, she can see the small shimmer in his eyes… can see how one lonely tear is running down his cheek and he quickly wipes his hand over his face, brushing the signs of vulnerability away.

Her words are true. Betty loves Jughead. She loved him since he first kissed her in this room three years ago.

“Those are some pretty words, Betty”, he finally speaks. His voice is much clearer and slower this time. “But you know what? Actions say more than words and you did enough actions to not let me trust you or your words anymore”.

“Jug…”.

“How many times?” He interrupts her with a cold question while she can watch how all love and affection in his eyes disappears in rapid speed. “How many times did you guys meet? Or do you want to tell me that this one time at the garage was a one-time thing?”

 _Hell_ ; she thinks. _This is what hell must feel like_.

She doesn’t even know how she manages to bring out the words. “We met at the bunker a couple of times…”.

She knows that she lost him by the way he watches her cry without any emotion in his eyes.

_I deserve this. But he doesn’t._

He doesn’t answer anymore and the silence between them seems to fill with pain and sorrow. She watches how he lifts his arm and grabs the knitted hat from his head. A sad smile appears on his face as he stares at the soft fabric in his hands.

Fear is running through Bettys veins.

She isn’t scared of him. She is scared of the feeling he will leave behind when he is gone.

Nothing will fix this… nothing will make things better… and the realization of that is what hurts the most.

With his eyes on his hat it suddenly seems like he wants to say something, and she can tell by the look on his face that there might be hope, that maybe, just maybe he wouldn’t hate her for this.

His voice is a lot softer this time. “Betty, I…”.

And suddenly the phone that is still in her hand is starting to ring and vibrates against her closed hand. They both look down and her heart drops the second she reads the words on the little display.

**Incoming call – _Archie Andrews_**

She damn well knows that Jughead can read the name from his place in front of her and if not, he surely recognizes the picture of the red-haired guy flickering over the screen in her hands.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” The irony mirrors in his voice as she puts the phone down on the table beside her, scared of the devastated laugh that is coming from his throat.

“I should have known better”, he adds with a voice so low and silent, that she can barely her it. “… was too good to be true”.

Before she can say anything, he throws his hat to the floor, starring at her one last time. “Guess I wasn’t wrong when I said you would only want me until Archie changed his mind, huh?”

“ _Jughead_ …”.

“Oh, be quite Betty. Just stop lying to yourself”.

And with that he leaves the room, slamming the door shut behind him with such power that some of the pictures on her wall are falling down in slow waves, leaving the girl next door more broken than she ever felt in her entire life.

Archie is running down the streets in Riverdale, his heartbeat pumping though every vein in his body, his mind racing just as fast as his own feet. He doesn’t even feel the pain in his legs after running for the last 20 minutes, his mind is concentrated on the unstoppable tragedy that is probably happening in this exact same moment.

He isn’t sure if Betty was ready to tell Jughead what happened between them. But he knows for a fact, that Jughead doesn’t deserve to find out about them through some creepy video tapes… and Betty should be able to speak to him first, regardless the unlucky circumstances.

 _Finally_ , he turns into the well-known street, his eyes fixed on the Cooper house in front of him while his burning legs carry him towards the entrance.

He is about to jump up the last two stairs as the front door suddenly opens.

Archie freezes on his spot right in front of the house and watches how Jughead Jones is closing the door behind him, walking down the two steps so he is standing right in front of him.

“Hey, Jug I…”.

He doesn’t even know what he wanted to say anyways, as Jughead interrupts him with his own words:

“Shut the fuck up, Archie”.

Archie has been boxing for a little over a year now, that’s why he knows exactly what is about to happen as Jughead is throwing his right arm in the air, swings it around and hits him right in the face.

The blow hits him partly on the cheek and partly on the nose and he knows immediately that the loud crack isn’t only coming from his nose but also from Jugheads fist.

His face pulsates under the pressure of the punch, but he just stands there, starring at Jugheads face in front of him.

He came too late. Jughead probably saw the tape at the exact same time he watched it with Veronica. And Archie can only imagine how that must have felt like for him.

He knows that Jugheads hand must hurt from the hit, but he doesn’t say anything as his best friend speaks again. “I thought you were my friend”, he spits out, his eyes wild and his whole body shaking.

“I thought you were my friend and then you went behind my back and kissed my girlfriend”.

He doesn’t say anything to that, because what is there to say? It’s the truth and Archie knows that everything that is happening right now is something that he deserves.

“You don’t have anything to say to that?!” Jugheads voice is heated but Archie can tell that there is much more pain under the surface than he wants to show on the mask on his face.

“I’m sorry Jughead”. They just stand there and look at each other and for a second he thinks that Jughead is about to hit him once more.

“You’re sorry”, he repeats. “… _you’re sorry_. You know what - rot in hell, Archie. You two truly deserve each other”.

And with that he brushes past him, pushing him to the side one last time before leaving the front yard.

He watches him leave, watches how his best friend is escaping this unbearable situation, watches how Jughead is nearly hurrying down the street.

 _I’m sorry_ ; he thinks. _I’m so sorry and I wish things would have turned out differently._

His head is hurting and the skin on his face is tingling as he tries to realize the sickening truth. He lost his best friend today. And he can only pray to god that someday… when the dust has settled… that he can make things right again.

The pain in his body isn’t half as bad as the pain inside his heart as he slowly turns to the door again, his mind returning to the one person he cares about the most.

_Betty._

His knock on the door is loud and echoes on the wall of the house when Alice cooper opens the door with a confused look on her face. “Archie…? Is everything alright…?”

“Is Betty here, Mrs. Cooper?” His words overlap while he speaks, the hurry in his voice is unmistakable.

“She is upstairs, but…”.

That’s all he needs to know as he pushes past her and enters the house with fast steps, walking up the stairs by taking two steps at once, ignoring Mrs. Coopers “What happened to your face, Archie?!” downstairs.

The door to Bettys room is closed and for a second he hesitates and wants to knock first – but _screw this_ , this is Betty on the other side of this door and that’s all that matters in this moment.

So he opens the door within a second, his eyes wandering over the room.

He finds her sitting on the floor in front of her bed, her legs pulled up to her chest, her small arms wrapped around her knees, a broken look on her face.

“ _Betty_ …”.

She doesn’t even look up to him as he hurries towards her, falling on his knees right beside her.

“He knows”. Her voice is barely a whisper and it scares him that she can’t even look at him. Her eyes are fixed on the wall across from her and he knows by the red color of her eyes that she has been crying. “Jughead knows”.

 _I know_ ; he wants to say.

“I’m so sorry, Betty”. His voice breaks for a second and that’s the first time she really turns her head to the side and looks at him.

“Oh my god… Archie, what the hell happened?” Her voice is still quiet but suddenly filled with worry and she turns to him, reaching up with her hand to brush over the left side of his face.

He flinches for a second because, _hell this hurts,_ as she jumps up and leaves the room, returning a few seconds later with something that looks like a wet towel.

“Come here…”, she mumbles as she sits down beside him and reaches up to gently pat the soft fabric over his face. “… hold still”.

Only now he notices the blood on the towel and the feeling of liquid on his face, probably triggered by the pain in his nose.

He tries to relax and closes his eyes, concentrates on the feeling of the cooling fabric on his face and Bettys soft fingertips that brush over his skin. “That was him, wasn’t it…?”

He doesn’t respond and they both know what that means.

“Veronica knows it too”, he whispers with closed eyes. “I tried to call you and tell you about the tapes Betty. Veronica got one too and I thought if I could tell you about them fast enough you could talk to Jughead first and…”.

“It doesn’t matter anymore”.

Suddenly the feeling of the towel on his face is gone and he opens his eyes just in time to see new tears running over Bettys cheeks and he follows his instinct and closes the distance between them, closing his arms around her as she buries her face at his chest.

They stay like this what feels like forever.

He lets her cry until there are not tears left, carefully running his hands over her back in hesitating, slow speed, closing his eyes as he rests his chin on the top of her head, silently praying that he can take all her pain away from her.

“You should go”. Her voice is breaking the silence between them and he opens his eyes as she winds herself out if his arms, looking at the floor beside them.

“Are you sure?”, he asks quietly, already knowing the answer to his question.

“Yes”. Her eyes flutter up to him and she wipes the tears from her cheek. “I… I think that… maybe we should stay away from each other for some time”.

Maybe it’s the crack in her voice or the devastated look on her face that makes his heart break once more.

“Just… just for some time”, she adds. “I think we should let some days pass and clear our heads…”.

“I know what you mean”, he admits. “It’s been a rough week”.

Slowly, a soft smile is appearing on her face and she reaches up again and his heart skips a beat as her fingers brush some of his hair out of his face. “You mean it’s been a rough month”.

He watches how her eyes search for his own and can’t help but to put on a broken smile. “It’s been a rough year, Betty”.

She nods and her lips form into a thin line as she tries to hold all the sadness inside.

He waits for her to say something else and he catches himself how a part of him still hopes that maybe she still wants him to stay but the question never comes and he tries to understand that maybe taking distance is actually the right thing to do right now.

“I’ll better leave before FP or your mom kicks me out of the front door”. He is proud that he can fight a small laugh on her lips as they both stand up on shaky feet.

“So… I’ll see you around I guess…”. He hates himself that even in times like this he can’t find the right words to say but her small smile shows him that she doesn’t even bother anymore.

She nods softly and his heart aches as he catches her eyes lingering over his lips for a moment.

_God, how bad he wants to kiss this girl. Tell her how much she means to him. Wants to show her that everything will be okay, eventually._

So, he reaches out for her, leans forward but instead of kissing her, he presses his lips on her forehead for a brief moment. He can hear her shaky breathing and can tell by the way she closes her eyes that her feelings aren’t much different than his own.

“If you ever need me”, he whispers against her hair. “you know I’m always there for you Betty. I always have been”. He parts himself form her and looks at her eyes one last time.

“I know”, she answers, the soft smile slowly reaching her eyes. “You’re just one window away”.

For a short moment he can see happiness shining through her expression of pain and sorrow and it dawns to him that he would to anything to bring back this joy to her eyes permanently.

He nods and smiles at her before he turns away and leaves the room, not able to stay any longer.

Archie doesn’t say anything as he comes back downstairs and gets shoot by questioning looks from Alice and FP. He just leaves the house, closes his eyes as he steps outside and breathes in some fresh air while he hopes and prays that somehow, someday… everything would be alright.

Betty tries her best to avoid every conversation with any person the following days.

She buries herself in home-and schoolwork, trying to concentrate on her graduation without letting any other thoughts inside her head.

Jughead isn’t sleeping in her room anymore and it hurts every time she sees him at home. Most of the time he avoids meeting her in the first place by spending time at Charles office or the trailer park and the time when they accidently see each other in the kitchen or living room he quickly leaves the room or even the house.

She wants to speak to Veronica at school a couple of days after the tapes got leaked but as soon as she walks towards the raven-haired girl in the hallway she throws a ice-cold look at her, followed by the words: “Don’t you dare to speak to me, Betty Cooper”.

Betty tries to avoid him as much as possible… but from time to time she catches the gaze of Archie Andrews on her when she walks through the school corridors. She knows whenever he is starring at her during classes or how he always seems to check on her on her way home, to make sure she is okay.

They don’t speak with each other… but sometimes she can see him through her window. She doesn’t want to look… but she can see him whenever he tries to study on his desk right in front of his own window and it’s like he can feel her presence through the glass whenever she looks at him and he lifts his gaze, softly smiling at her. 

One-month flies past and nothing changes. Betty feels like living in a glasshouse. She always knows exactly what will happen next because every day is the same and she hates that she doesn’t even care anymore. The only people that still talk to her are her mom, FP and Charles.

Betty knows that she deserves all this, because this is the price you pay when you do bad things. And she did a lot of them.

It’s Friday evening when Betty is sitting in her room, trying to get some school stuff in her head when her cellphone is vibrating.

**Part at my house at 9pm! Let’s celebrate that we have only have two exams left, losers! - _Cheryl Blossom, 7:23pm_**

Betty throws the phone against her pillow because, _hell_ there is no way she is going to a party today. But with every minute that passes by, she starts starring at the clock on her wall, the pencil in her hand nervously tapping on the book in her lap.

After spending nearly an entire month on her own she damn well knows that she is slowly losing her mind in her room. And maybe… maybe a party isn’t the worst idea to get a clear head.

_Screw it, I’m going._

She jumps off her bed, searching for the right clothes to wear and one hour later she is walking down the stairs in a yellow dress, her hair tied together in an lose braid.

“Honey?” Her mom and Charles are sitting in the living room, both looking at her as soon as she walks in the room. “Where are you going?”

“To Cheryl”, she says while slipping in her white sneakers. “I’ll be back in a few hours”.

“Are you going to a party, Elisabeth? What about your homework?!” Her mom seems shocked at her words, but Charles is the one standing up from the couch, laughing at Alice’s expression.

“Let her go, Alice. She studied enough in the last few weeks”. Charles walks around Betty, grabbing his jacket and car key from the kitchen table. “I was about to drive to the office anyway. I can drop you off at Cheryl’s on the way”.

“Thank you”. They both smile at their moms shocked face while walking out of the house into the dark summer night.

The car drive to Cheryl’s house is quite pleasant until Charles breaks the silence with the words: “So you’re going to this party alone?”

She looks out of the window, which doesn’t even make sense considering how dark it is outside.

“Yeah… but I know some people there. It will be alright”.

He stays quiet for a few seconds and a part of her hopes that he’ll just turn on the radio.

“I’ll be working with Jughead tonight… judging by your facial expression that will calm you… he won’t be at the party”.

She hates herself that he is right. A part of her was scared that she might meet him there. “It’s alright Charles”.

“I know what happened between you two”, he suddenly says as she turns her head in his direction, tries to read his mind while he is starring at the street in front of him. “Don’t worry, I won’t judge you, Betty. I just want you to know that I’m here for you if you want to talk about it. Just because Jughead is my little brother and we are working together sometimes… that doesn’t mean that I can’t be there for you as well. After all you’re my little sister”.

Some seconds pass by and she just stares at him. “How do you know about what happened between us?”

“Jughead told me”.

_Of course he did._

Betty is more than glad that they reach Cheryl’s house the next minute. “Alright… thank you Charles. For driving me here… and for the things you just said”.

He gives her a little smile as he parks in front of the house and she climbs out of the car. “No problem… how are you gonna come home?”

“I will find something”, she answers.

“Call me if you need someone to pick you up, okay?” She nods, closes the car door and watches him leave through the gateway of the Blossom house.

 _That was weird;_ she thinks. _And I’m afraid it is about to get even weirder._

As soon as she enters the house, she kind of realizes that this isn’t just some little party for some High School friends… this is one of those house party’s that she never liked in the first place.

There are ten people alone in the hallway, laughing over some jokes and there are even more people in the living room, which is painted in a warm red-light tone – _typical Cheryl_ – and lots of cups filled with all kinds of alcohol. The music is so loud that she barely understands Toni, which is walking towards her through the crowed room, smiling at her as she pulls her in a tight hug. “Hey… so glad you came!”

“I’m glad too”. She smiles at her and realizes by the way Toni looks at her, that this girl is already really drunk.

“BETTYYY!” Cheryl is the next person beside her. “My dear cousin, I didn’t think you would actually come”.

“Cheryl…”. Toni shoots her girlfriend a look which rolls her eyes as an answer. “Oh common, I was just joking…”.

She turns to Betty again, the cherry-red lips turned into a wide grin. “Want to drink something? We have everything you could ask for in the kitchen”.

“Actually…”. Betty let her eyes wander around the room, watching all the people laughing and drinking, slowly dancing to the up-beat music in the background. “…yeah… I would love to drink something”.

“Excellent!”

The next few hours feels like a daydream and a nightmare all at once.

After drinking some vodka lemon with Cheryl and Toni she ends up sitting in the living room on one of the crowed sofas, sharing all different types of drinks with all the other people around her. The music is so loud that she can feel the beat in her chest as she talks to Reggie who is sitting across from her on one of the pretty red chairs.

“Hey Cooper!”, he yells at her over the noises some minutes past midnight. “You’re alone here?”

“Yes”, she yells back, taking another sip of her undefinable drink, trying to feel nothing but the music around her and the alcohol on the tip of her tongue.

“What about Lodge or Jones?”, he asks, and she just shakes her head without even really looking at him. “Too bad. If Archie would have known that you would come, he wouldn’t have said no to the invite”.

Her eyes shoot up as her heartbeat quickens. “Archie?”, she asks him.

“Yeah”, he shouts over the table while another song starts to play, and the music seems to get louder with every beat. “I asked him if he wanted to come to this party, but this jerk said no.”

She tries to ignore the hollow feeling in her chest as she just nods to Reggie and stands up, saying something like “I’m gonna get another drink” to the people on the sofa and leaves the living room with shaky steps.

_Of course, Archie isn’t here. She would have seen him by now if he was… but she still feels more than stupid that a little part of her was hoping that he might be._

She can feel the alcohol in her blood as she reaches the kitchen and grabs one of the bottles on the counter, ignoring the other two people at the other side of the kitchen that seem to make out right here right now.

While she takes a sip from the new drink in her hand, she searches for the phone in her bag. Her vision gets blurrier with every drop of liquid and it takes her a few seconds before she is able to unlock her screen.

Betty doesn’t even know what she is doing but _of course_ she opens the chat of one specific person. No thinking – just doing.

**I miss you. – _Betty Cooper, 01:43am_**

She hits sent without thinking too much about it, because for one moment she doesn’t want to feel the need to hide her true emotions anymore. She stares at the profile picture of Archie for a solid minute while leaning against the fridge behind her, throwing the already empty cup in the sink.

She giggles as she starts to type a second message.

**You look hot on your profile pic, did u know that – _Betty Cooper, 01:45am_**

By the way a silly laugh is coming over her curved lips or how the whole room seems to rotate around her, she realizes pretty fast that she is actually very drunk. But the truth is -she doesn’t care at all.

**Oh sry… making compliments is against the rules right – _Betty Cooper, 01:46am_**

She knows damn well that she should stop texting him messages like that but even through all the alcohol in her veins she can feel how her heart aches for his presence.

She grabs another cup – this time filled with some beer – and drinks the whole thing in a few seconds.

“Betty!”

The sudden voice right beside her is scaring her to the point where she nearly drops her phone to the kitchen floor. She turns her head and looks right in the face of Kevin Keller.

“Kev!” They share a tight hug and she smiles over his shoulder. “I didn’t know you were coming… I thought you didn’t like parties, especially one of Cheryl’s”.

“Well, I thought the same about you”. He laughs as they let go of each other and walks past her to grab two empty cups from the counter behind them, filling them with one of the many beer bottles. “Betty… are you alone here?”

He hands her one of the cups and she stares at his hand for a few seconds. “Yeah… I… kind of thought a party would be a good idea after all the drama that happened in the last weeks”.

He nods and she can see that his brown eyes are trying to read the broken expression on her face. But this is not the time or the place to feel sad, so she holds the cup in her hands high in the air. “Please Kev… please don’t judge me okay? I just want to have fun for one night. I can return to all my problems tomorrow but let’s just not think about anything serious now, alright?” Kevin is one of the few people that knows about the whole Jughead-Betty-Veronica-Archie love problems and she appreciates the fact that he never, not even once, judged her for the mistakes she did. Maybe because he was her friend before any kind of love problems appeared in their lives a few years ago.

He seems to understand by the sight of her pleading eyes and fights a smile on his face. “Alright… so… cheers?”

He laughs while a smile wipes all the sadness away. “Cheers”.

Betty is and never was a beer person. Drinking in general was illegal at her age… not that this would stop her or any other teenagers to drink, but beer just wasn’t something that she normally reached for.

However, at this night, she drank a lot of beer.

It’s 2am when she is sitting in the living room of the Blossom house again, a new filled cup in her hands, her head leaning against the warm shoulder of Kevin, smiling at the conversation in front of her.

Most of the people are already gone, some of them left to go home, a huge part of the guests wanted to go dancing in the nearest club. Cheryl wasn’t quite happy to see most of the people leave this early but not even she could deny that the group that was still left in the living room was a much more pleasant company than all the drunk students from before.

The music isn’t as loud as some minutes ago and some R&B songs are quietly playing in the background as the group consisting of Cheryl, Toni, Kevin, Fangs and Betty are sitting at the small living room table, Betty, Kevin and Fangs sharing the large sofa while Toni is sitting on Cheryl’s lap on one of the red chairs across from them.

Betty tries to listen to the conversation as good as possible, but as soon as the topic _prom_ gets brought up, she kind of sinks into the soft pillow behind her back. Normally she doesn’t like the feeling of being drunk. To be honest, it always kind of scared her. Not only the fact that underaged drinking could get her in some serious trouble, but Betty Cooper was always meant to be the perfect girl… and perfect girls don’t drink.

_Perfect girls don’t cheat as well._

_Perfect girls shouldn’t hurt their boyfriends or best friends._

_… and perfect girls shouldn’t text someone while being drunk._

The second the screen of her phone lights up she can feel the adrenaline in her chest rising. She turns the phone in her lap around, reading the late reply from someone she tried not to miss for _so long._

**Betty, are you drunk? – _Archie Andrews, 02:03am_**

She doesn’t know why she gets mad at his response. Maybe because she wanted to hear something different. Maybe because she is way too drunk to think clear anymore and all the emotions inside her seem to rise to the surface all at once, pushing every clear though and rule to the side, she tried to hold up for the last few days.

Suddenly she gets a second message from him and she can’t help but to smile.

**Where are you? – _Archie Andrews, 02:04am_**

She types her reply without thinking about it, because after all, she tried for a whole month to stay away from him, to bury her feelings once again. And in this moment, she is finally feeling like she is allowed to talk to him again.

**Not where u arwe and that’s a shamee – _Betty Cooper, 02:05am_**

She doesn’t even recognize the spelling mistakes in her answer because she feels more than proud for writing him exactly what she thinks.

“Betty…”. Kevin’s voice beside her is soft and quite and she just knows be the way his head is turned, that he can read every single letter on the display in front of her. “You know I love you and you know I’m always on your side, no matter what… but let me just ask you… is this smart?”

She turns her head to look at him, meets his half concerned and half amused gaze in the middle as he points on the phone in her hands. A tired and soft smile appears on her face as she blunts him slightly while shrugging her shoulders.

“I have no idea, Kev”. Her voice faints more with every word she speaks and the alcohol she drank over the last few hours seems to take over her body.

“You really like him, huh?” The fatigue is rising in her as Kevin whisper reaches her ear and she slowly gives in to the tiredness, sinking even further into the soft pillows behind her, her cheek pressed against her best friend’s arm. “It’s okay to feel something, Betty. It’s not like these feelings are something new… and I might be the only one, but I really do believe that after all the drama in the last few months… you deserve to feel happy again. No matter what happened…”.

His words blend together with the still ongoing conversation of Toni, Cheryl and Fangs and she wants to nod to his words, but the strength is leaving her body second by second. She wants to tell him that he is probably right, but she can’t even look up to him anymore. It feels like all her strength is leaving her body second by second while her mind is running in circles.

_“I just really miss him”._

She isn’t even sure if these words only exist in her imagination or if they are actually leaving her mouth. Betty just knows that the fight to stay awake is nearly as hard as fighting against the feelings inside her – so she gives up and closes her eyes, gives herself over to the increasing weariness caused by alcohol and overthinking.

This is the point where she isn’t able to stay awake any longer and it eases her mind that none of the other people in the room seem to care that she is falling asleep in their company.

The truth is that Betty never meant to hurt anyone. Not Jughead, not Veronica… not Archie. But she kind of did all of that in the last weeks. The constant pain of losing and disappointing people is following Betty by every step she takes and this the first time she finally lets herself feel the emotions inside her.

A mixture of darkness, feelings, imagines and colors fly through her mind as she drifts over into sleep, the soft-spoken words of her friends reaching her ears from time to time. Her surroundings seem so distant that nothing pulls her back to the here and now and she smiles in her sleep, fascinated at how easily reality can blend with fantasy.

_“…Is she alright?”_

_“…Yeah… just a little intoxicated I think…”._

She no longer has a sense of time or the ability to differentiate thoughts from real words but for a second she is sure that she knows that voice and the person it belongs to.

For a moment she is about to wake up but somehow it feels like she loses every connection to the ground, her body and mind lost in her colorful dreams.

_“I got you…”._

A part of her knows this warm voice, knows this familiar scent and damn well knows this overwhelming feeling of security.

Maybe it’s just her imagination and maybe it’s just a dream.

But she is more than sure that it is Archie’s voice that echoes through her head as her mind goes blank and she loses every single sense at once, falling back into complete darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys… I'm so sorry that I didn't upload a chapter sooner but I had to rewrite the second part of this one, because after thinking about it, the original version was a bit too dark for this fanfic. After that, my laptop stopped working for a day and I had to fix the problem… yeah, and now we are here :)
> 
> I really hope you liked this chapter.  
> What do you think about Jugheads reaction or Bettys party evening? 
> 
> A big thank you to all the people who left comments or kudos on the lest chapter - you are the sweetest!! <33
> 
> Stay healthy and take care! :)


	5. Cause it's a mad world

Archie never thought that breaking up with Veronica, trying to get through the exams and staying away from Betty and all the people that once were close to him would be this hard.

He realized it after the first week when no one really talked to him in school anymore… except Reggie of course but well… that wasn’t quite something that could compare to the conversations he used to have with his old friends.

Trying to focus on school and studying helped a lot but Archie wasn’t that kind of person who was able to sit at his desk, reading books all day long.

His daily routine became familiar very quickly.

_Going to school._

_Studying._

_Playing some guitar._

_Working out at the gym every afternoon._

After three weeks it became easier. Archie got used to this lonely lifestyle.

But that didn’t keep him from looking at the girl next door from time to time.

He smiled at her when he saw her through her window and the heartbreak he felt after she turned away from him was worth the short second she actually smiled back. He knew the reasons why she said they should keep their distance between them and he understood that they needed some time apart after all the pain they caused.

But missing her wasn’t easy.

And that didn’t change. Not even after a whole month.

“You and Cooper huh?” Reggie asked him one time in the school dressing room and he just rolled his eyes.

“I have no idea what you are talking about”.

“Common man… I know that there has to be a reason why both of your relationships seemed to explode into pieces at the exact same time… you fucked, right? That’s why Lodge and Jones won’t even look at you anymore and Cooper seems to disappear whenever you walk into the hallway”.

He should have punched Reggie back at this day… but he just left the room after that, his face an unreadable mask. “Mind your own business, Reggie”.

Archie went straight to the gym that evening. After agreeing to go to the Navy after graduation a few days ago he tried to stay in shape whenever he had some free time. Getting kicked out of the Naval Academy wasn’t something he looked forward too, so he tried to reach the standards and raised the bar every day.

He tried to ignore the fact that he signed the Naval papers days ago… and he didn’t even tell Betty about all of this.

He knows that he has to tell her as soon as possible. Because even if they don’t really speak at the moment, she has a right to know about something this important.

It’s nearly one o’clock in the morning when Archie leaves the El Royale.

The streets are dark and empty on his car ride home and he knows by the way the lights in the house are off that his mom is already asleep.

He takes a shower as silent as possible and let’s himself fall onto his bed as suddenly, the screen on his mobile phone is lighting up. He has several unread messages from the past few minutes and the first one he opens is from Reggie.

**I told you you should have come to the party bro… - _Reggie; 1:40am_**

**Your little friend Cooper is here – _Reggie; 1:42am_**

Archie stares at the screen in his hand for a solid minute, trying to progress the information he just received. Betty has been avoiding him for a whole month and he knew that she barely spoke to anyone during this time. Going to a party doesn’t fit into the picture at all.

He leaves the opened chat to read the other missed messages, mixed feelings rising up in his chest as he reads Bettys name on his display.

**I miss you – _Betty Cooper; 1:43am_**

**You look hot on your profile pic, did u know that – _Betty Cooper, 01:45am_**

**Oh sry… making compliments is against the rules right – _Betty Cooper, 01:46am_**

When he was feeling tired before, he surely isn’t anymore as he stares at the words in front of him. It only takes him a few seconds to realize – Betty is drunk.

**Betty, are you drunk? – _Archie Andrews, 02:03am_**

He doesn’t wait for a response and just sends another message.

**Where are you? – _Archie Andrews, 02:04am_**

This probably wasn’t the smartest question to ask, considering that he knows exactly where she is. Cheryl’s house party.

**Not where u arwe and that’s a shamee – _Betty Cooper, 02:05am_**

He doesn’t need to hear anything else – he is already throwing over some new shirt and some jeans, hurrying down the dark stairwell. One minute later he is already back in his car on his way to the Blossom house, fingers tapping against the steering wheel.

Drinking isn’t a bad thing to Archie Andrews. He knows for a fact that alcohol can make you feel a lot better about nearly everything in your life and he tried that once in a while when life wasn’t going the way it should have. But he also knows that alcohol can cause more problems than before… and in Betty Cooper’s case, that wasn’t something that he would like to see happening.

It only takes him a few minutes to reach Thornhill and he parks the car right in front of the entrance. He walks a few meters through the dark before he reaches the front door and steps into the empty hallway, the smell of alcohol and the sound of some quite pop music reaching him immediately.

He turns to the living room and the second he steps into the room, all eyes are on him.

“Archie! What a surprise!” Cheryl is sitting on Toni’s lap right beside him, smiling up to him with her usual bright and also kind of scary smile.

“Hey…” is his response, while searching the dim lighted room with his eyes. There aren’t many people left and the party seems to have turned into some kind of late night talking session with only Cheryl, Toni, Fangs, Kevin… and Betty left.

The second he sees her sitting right beside Kevin with her eyes closed he walks towards her, passing the Fangs and Kevin on his way and ignoring Cheryl’s smug comment: “Well, look what brought him here… guess only one person was worth his presence”.

“What happened to her? Is she alright?” He tries his best to hide the concern in his voice but he knows damn well that the silent laugh from Fangs beside him is the proof that his plan isn’t working so well. 

Kevin seems to be the only one in the room that is genuinely worried about Betty. “…Yeah… just a little intoxicated I think…” He nudges her side with his elbow but the blonde girl isn’t showing any sign of reaction.

“I’ll bring her home”. The words leave Archie’s mouth with such self-confidence that no one of the others seems to disagree with him.

“I think this would be the best”. Kevin offers him a little smile and he is thankful for him in moments like this. He knows that Betty and Kevin always shared some tight bond and lived out a friendship unlikely any other and a part of him is glad that she has someone to rely on in nights like this.

“Betty… hey, wake up”. Archie bends down in front of the small sofa, trying to wake her by shaking her softly by the shoulders. ”Jesus, how much did she drink?”

“I don’t really know… enough, I would say. I don’t think that anything will wake her up in this condition, Archie. She seems pretty knocked out”.

He just nods at Kevin’s words while his eyes stay on Betty’s face the entire time. “Alright… then we will do this the old-fashioned way”. With that words he reaches forward and pulls her as gently as possible in his arms and stands up, holding her with one arm under her back, the other under her knees. He ignores Cheryl’s laugh as he walks past the remaining people.

“Thank you for taking care of her Archie”. It’s Toni that makes him stop at the door for a second. “She seemed pretty sad tonight…”

“No need to thank me for that”, he simply answers, while his eyes fall on the sleeping girl in his arms. “I’m just glad she is alright…”.

“Yeah” Something in Toni’s eyes tells him that somehow, she knows exactly how much he cares for the blond girl in front of him. But she doesn’t say anything while he leaves the house and carries Betty towards the car, mumbling a soft “I got you” as her eyelids seem to flutter for a second. 

He stumbles through the dark and the second he reaches the parked car the girl in his arms suddenly opens her eyes in a slow motion.

“Hey…” He sounds kind of breathless at the sight of the mirroring stars in her eyes and how she looks up to him like someone who just got saved from the death.

“… You’re here”. Her voice is barely a whisper but somehow she manages to put a small smile on her face.

He tries to hide the quite laugh in his throat. “Yeah, I’m here… ready to go home?”

She just stares to him while nodding slowly.

“Can you stand?” Her soft expression changes into a reproachful glance the second the question leaves his mouth. 

“What kind of question is that… of course I can stand, you loser”. He tries to hide his laugh as he puts her down and as soon as her feet hit the ground, she turns around to him, her hair flying through the dark and her shiny eyes staring up to him while she leans against the car behind her.

“Why weren’t you at the party?” Her words sound curious, but he doesn’t miss the hidden accusation in her voice.

He is silent for a moment. “Well, I am here now”.

She rolls her eyes and he can’t help but smile at her annoyed expression.

“Common”, he adds, opening the car door beside her. “Let’s bring you home”.

For a moment it seems like she wants to say something, but she closes her half-opened mouth as she climbs into the car and he shuts the door behind her.

He opens the windows on the way home so that the warm summer-night-air can drift through the car. The streets are empty and dark as they drive through Riverdale and when he turns his head to check on Betty beside him, she has her eyes closed and her face turned to the opened window, the loose strands of hair that slipped out of her braid flying in the wind around her.

She looks so peaceful that he doesn’t say a thing for a while, but after a few minutes he can’t take the silence anymore. “So… you had fun at the party?”

Her answer is a soft hum and he realizes that she probably even forgot about the messages she sent to him.

The second he turns into the well-known street and parks the car in front of their houses she finally speaks again. “I don’t want to go home”.

Her voice is just a whisper and he just stares at her for a moment, watching how she opens her eyes to look at him, her fingers clenching around the little bag on her lap.

“Look Betty, it’s probably the best when you go and sleep for a while…”.

“I know”, she interrupts him with a slow pronunciation, her tired and dazed eyes looking at him through the dark car interior. “but… _I hate it there_ ”. Her voice breaks for a second and even though he knows that she is still very drunk… she is telling the truth. He follows her gaze towards the Coopers house, and he understands within an instant. Of course, she doesn’t like to be there. He can’t even imagine what it would be like, to live with your ex-boyfriend under the same roof, living with people that barely speak to you.

His eyes wander over the shadowed face of the girl beside him, watching how she takes on a battle against her own demons in this very moment.

He tries not to think about it too much as he unbuckles his seatbelt, reaches over to her side and does the same to hers. “Come”, he simply says to her as he jumps out of the door and walks around the car, opening the door on her side.

“No… _no please_ , I don’t want to go there Arch, I…”. He knows that the alcohol in her blood is clouding her thoughts as she stumbles over her own words, the blank horror and sadness shining in her widened eyes as she nearly falls out of the car.

“Relax…”. Her catches her as she stumbles against him and he knows that he would laugh about her clumsiness in other circumstances. He closes the car behind them while making sure that the blonde girl beside him can stand on her own two feet.

He watches how she tries to smooth out the folds in her yellow dress on the dark sidewalk as her eyes meet his in the middle and he nods in the direction of his house. “Common… you can stay at my house tonight”.

They keep eye contact for solid ten seconds and even though its dark outside, he can see how her emotions slowly switch from sorrow to thankfulness.

“Are you sure?” Her words are quite and haltingly as she takes a small step towards him.

“Yeah… we did sleepovers millions of times as kids, remember? That shouldn’t be a problem”.

There is irony in his voice, and he catches the small smile in the corner of her mouth as she suddenly looses her balance once again and he grabs her by her waist before she stumbles to the ground.

“Jesus, Betty… how much did you drink?!” She steadies herself by clasping her hands around his arm, closing her eyes for a moment. “Not much…”. Her answer is a short lie and they both know it.

“Common… let’s go before you fall asleep in my front yard”.

Leading Betty inside the house and up the stairs isn’t as hard as he feared and the only thing he’s really worried about is not waking up his mom on the other side of the floor or letting Betty throw up in the hallway.

He exhales relieved when they finally reach his room and he can let her go to close the door behind him. When he turns around, she is standing in front of his window, starring through the glass into the night, the silhouette of her body outlined by the moonlight in this dark room and all he can do is stand there and admire the beauty of this moment.

“I like this window”. She mumbles the words as she turns around to him and he tries his very best to keep himself from laughing over her drunk voice. This isn’t the first time he sees Betty drunk but after all the things that changed between them in the last months, he now notices the lazy voice and her clumsiness much more than the years before.

But it doesn’t matter how much he fights it - he can’t prevent a small smile appearing on his lips. “Yeah… it’s a pretty window”.

Before he can say anything else, she lets herself fall on his bed right beside her, throwing her little bag to the floor. He feels like a stranger in his own house as he watches her taking of her white sneakers in the dark room. He reaches for the light switch to help her by lighting up the room but in the exact same second she starts pulling on her jeans jacket, throwing it to the floor as well and somehow he feels like that he isn’t really meant to see this, to watch her in this private moment. So, he leaves the room dark, turns his head away from Betty, trying everything in his power to find the right words to say.

_I miss you._

_You look hot on your profile picture, you know that?_

_Where are you? - Not where you are and that’s a shame._

Her text messages are going though his mind as he stares at the wall on his left.

“Can you help me?” Her voice pulls him back to reality and he turns his head in her direction, watching how she stands up again, turning her back to him while pointing at the zipper of her dress.

He shouldn’t feel this nervous about having her here in his room, because hell – _he can’t and won’t let anything happen between them like this_ – but everything he ever did before and everything he once experienced with other girls… all that won’t ever come close to the feeling in his chest whenever Betty is the one he shares this little but important moments with.

“Archie?” She turns around a little, trying to find out what takes him so long to follow her simple request.

He doesn’t answer with words, he just turns her around so her back is facing him again and he searches for the little zipper in the almost black room. “You can’t sleep in your underwear”.

A quite giggle is coming over her lips as he opens the dress with a quick movement. “Why not?”

“Betty…”. He makes it clear by the way he pronounces her name in an almost warning tone that this isn’t the right time to joke around like this and he knows that she understands, even though her perception isn’t the very best right now.

He turns around and opens his closet, grabbing the first shirt he gets his hands on. When he turns back around her dress is already on the floor and he hands her the clothing without another word, his face turning to the wall beside him again.

“You remember when I used to wear your shirts back when we were little?” Her voice is breaking the silence while she pulls the shirt over her head and he gives her a few seconds until he looks back to her. “… don’t want to be that person… but they looked better on me as they did on you”.

A silent laugh is following her words and he tries to hide it – but damn it, this girl makes him smile.

“What… no reply to that?” He watches how she laughs again and lets himself admire the sight of her in his shirt for a moment. The moonlight that shines through the window is turning her skin in white silk, her golden hair is still tied together in one of these loose braids she started to wear in the past weeks and he can’t lie and say that his dark-blue shirt isn’t looking good on her.

“I’ll answer that tomorrow”, he simply says when she lets herself fall back on his bed again, the tiredness showing in the shadows of her face. He turns around, almost reaching the door when she calls after him. “Wait, where are you going?”

“To the living room”, he replies. “I’ll be on the couch if you need me”.

“No, no, no”. He turns around while her desperate words overlap while she speaks and even in the almost dark room, he can see the pleading written on her face. “Please, stay”.

“ _Betty_ …”.

“Oh, for god’s sake, Archie. Common, we shared a bed hundred of times when we were young. This will be alright” He is surprised of the sudden anger in her voice and he gets reminded of the alcohol in her body once again. “Please stay with me”.

_Damn it._

He gives up the second her eyes meet his own and walks back to his bed, kicking off his shoes while he walks. “Don’t think I can’t see your victorious smile”, he breathes while shaking his head, her silent laugh filling the room. He gets rid of his jeans next and sits down next to her, looking to the other side of the bed where she watches him with tired but also widened eyes.

Betty has been laying on this bed a thousand of times… and yet, not one moment could ever come close to this exact one.

Doubt turns into familiarity as she reaches for him in the dark and her fingers are clasping softly around his arm, pulling him down to her. _He never lost a fight so willingly._

So, he lays down beside her, feeling her warmth under the blanket, wondering how the hell they got in this situation this fast. He spent a whole month missing Betty and somehow, he can’t quite believe how fast they went from acting like strangers to sharing a bed in the middle of the night.

Archie decides to put all those questions aside as he feels Betty coming nearer and he realizes that all the waiting of the last month was worth it, the second she warps an arm around his torso and lays her head on his chest, clinging to him like her life is depending on it.

He can feel her smile against his chest the moment her pulls her even tighter, wrapping his arms around her like he waited years for this. She feels tiny against him and her skin is soft and warm, and he gets wrapped up in the scent of her strawberry shampoo as he rests his head on her hair.

“Told you this would be good”, she mumbles against his skin and he is glad that she can’t see the little smile in the curve of his lips.

“Hmm… it’s quite alright, I guess”.

“God, you’re unbelievable”. Her voice is barely a whisper and he knows by the way her grip becomes lighter every second that she is about to fall asleep. “Just wait till I change your mind”.

“Alright, I’ll wait for it”, he replies with a smirk, damn well knowing that she would punch him if she would be awake.

“I’ll show you tomorrow”, she whispers while snuggling up against the side of his chest, her words only a silent promise.

“Okay… goodnight, Betty”.

She only mumbles something inaudible against his shirt as an answer, before falling asleep entirely.

He stays awake for minutes, just admiring the silhouette of the girl in his arms, taking in her warmth presence, asking himself over and over again, how they managed to get here in the first place.

Betty’s head feels like porridge the second her consciousness returns to reality and her thoughts are slowly fading out of the colorful dreams she had a few moments ago. It takes her minutes to realize where exactly she is while she keeps her eyes closed, trying to hold on to the cozy sleep she is about to wake up from.

At first there is complete silence around her, and she is about to fall back to sleep until the soft breathing of another person reaches her ears.

Curiosity wins the fight against fatigue and her eyes flutter open, blinking against the light several times before being able to see anything. The ceiling is the first thing her eyes fall on until her gaze wanders through the room which is filled with the golden light of the morning sun outside.

Second by second her awareness returns to her, followed by memories of the last night.

 _Oh god_.

It feels like her head is spinning around as she suddenly feels the arms that are wrapped around her waist and she realizes that her head isn’t lying on a pillow but resting on the chest of Archie Andrews.

_Oh._

She lifts her head a little bit, turning her face to look up to him. Her heartbeat slows down a little as she watches his closed eyes and peaceful expression and realizes that he is still asleep. The memories of the last night are flying through her mind and images of cups filled with beer are filling her head, followed by pictures of a late car ride and a dark room with one bed for two.

 _He actually stayed with me_ ; she thinks. _He stayed because I wanted him to._

There is no point of fighting the small smile on her lips as she puts her head back down on his chest, closing her eyes while taking in the familiar scent of her best friend. It feels like a little throwback to a time when she was allowed to have sleepovers in this room as a child, until her mom started to forbid that kind of things when her and Archie reached a certain age.

Her fingers are painting small circles on his chest, following the small wrinkles on his white shirt as his deep breathing slowly changes and he starts to move beside her.

“Good morning”. She is sure that he can hear the smile in her words as she looks up to him, meeting his gaze as soon as he opens his eyes.

“Hey…”. His voice is rough and much lower than usual and she knows by the look in his eyes that he is nearer to sleep than to reality. She reaches up and her fingers move from his chest to his cheek, slowly brushing over the side of his face and then through his wild hair.

His eyes full shut by her touch and she can hear a soft hum echoing in his throat. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good, considering that I drank way too much yesterday”. She laughs a little but there is a big amount of shame hidden in her words. “Sorry that you had to see me like that…”.

He just shakes his head and looks down at her, concern showing in his eyes. “Don’t be sorry for that… but I would like to know, why you drank so much in the first place?”

A minute passes by while she thinks about his question. “I guess I was trying to repress some feelings… the last weeks have been hard and I guess… I don’t know, it just felt good to let go for a few hours”.

He nods and turns his face to the ceiling, his arms holding her a little bit tighter than before and she closes her eyes as she snuggles up against his chest again, her fingers gripping in his shirt.

“Do you remember your text messages?”, he asks, his low voice filled with curiosity and maybe a little laughter and her eyes widen again as the last missing memory returns to her.

“Oh god”, she breathes with a mumble against his chest and she can feel his laugh vibrating through his whole body. “… please give me your phone so I can erase that memory out of the chat-history and also out of your mind forever”.

He laughs even more as he meets her desperate look. “Oh no, believe me… nothing will ever erase that out of my head. You said I look hot on my profile pic… that line will live in my memory forever”.

“Oh, shut up”. She glances up at him, amusement and a little anger written over her face and she catches his eyes lingering over her lips for a little too long. And suddenly his presence right in front of her gets more intense than before, the strength of his arms around her feeling much more present than a minute ago.

She knows that something changed the second his eyes fall back on her lips and suddenly she feels much more awake than before.

The last thing she sees is a little smirk in the curve of his mouth as their lips meet in the middle and she pulls herself higher, pressing her body against his chest and he closes his arms around her lower back, leaving no space between them.

Maybe it’s the fact that she waited weeks for a moment like this or that she just really missed him like hell, that gives her that joyful and exhilarating feeling inside her chest as they are finally able to kiss without anyone or anything standing between them. 

Archie is familiar, Archie is soothing. Archie is her safe place and she knows he feels something similar towards her by the way she seems to read every thought in his head through the way his lips move on hers.

Her hangover seems to be forgotten when her fingers grab into his shirt in an impatient way, trying to get closer to him without really knowing where or how to touch him. She can feel him smile into the kiss because of her obvious struggle, his hands pressing into her back to demonstrate that, unlike her, he knows exactly what to do.

 _I can play this game as well_ ; she thinks while slowly pulling herself on top of him, still kissing him back while she is letting herself fall on his lap, one leg resting on each side of the mattress next to him.

It’s clear that he is surprised by the way he parts his lips from hers to let his head fall back on his pillow, trying to catch his breath while his dark eyes look back up to her. She uses the break to sit down completely, putting down her hands on his chest to keep balance.

Archie and Betty have known each other for over a decade. They went through childhood together, helped each other through puberty… yet nothing will ever compare to the feeling of complete ecstasy whenever they get this close to one another.

“You look good in my shirt”. Archie’s raspy voice is breaking the electrical silence between them as he watches her sitting upon him, clearly enjoying this moment as he keeps his eyes on her face the entire time.

She laughs and rolls her eyes at this comment because she knows damn well that she looks like a disaster right now. Her hair feels like a bird nest because her braid is nearly destroyed at this point and she knows that the shirt she wears is way to big for her, falling like a dress over her body.

“Told you I look better in your clothes than you do”. The tease in her words is obviously intended and as expected, he takes the bait and pushes himself off the mattress, grabbing her waist as he captures her smile with his lips once again. He sits in front of her, pulling her even closer on his lap while his hands stroke over her bag, moving further down her body with every second.

A dizzy feeling is circling in her head and she isn’t quite sure if this is the aftermath of her party night or her reaction to Archie’s hands on her body. She just knows that this feels more than right and somehow, all the bad feelings and dark moments from the last days get pushed aside, making room for something lighter and much simpler.

His hands slide under her shirt in slow motion and glides over her bare waist. His fingers feel warm but also rough from the guitar playing and she knows he can feel the shiver on her skin.

They end the kiss when his lips trail down to her neck, leaving marks all over her skin while she buries her hands in his hair, trying to steady herself.

Maybe this isn’t the right thing to do after a party-night and with some leftovers of alcohol in her blood, but it definitely is a perfect way to start not only a new day but also a new chapter of her life. Betty doesn’t want to feel grief or horror anymore. She doesn’t want to solve another mystery; she doesn’t want to think about or even feel the pain she received and brought to others in the last years.

It took some time to realize that Archie has always been the red thread in her life and the only thing she can rely on at this moment is holding on to this rope of light and hope he symbolizes for her, to pull her out of the past she finally wants to leave behind completely.

She wants to tell him about all the thoughts in her head but instead of using words, she shows him her emotions with actions; pressing her body against his touch, approving to a question he never even asked out loud.

“How does your head feel?” The question leaves his mouth during his kisses on her neck and she would roll her eyes if they were open.

“Fine”. That’s a lie and they both know it. She slept a few hours and that sure helped a lot. But there is no medicine against alcohol and the only thing you can do to overcome the hangover is waiting for the symptoms to disappear.

There are a lot of things on Betty’s mind right now and waiting isn’t one of them.

“Are you sure?” His lips stop at the cutout of her shirt, lingering right over her collarbone and a desperate sight is leaving her mouth.

“Yes”. Her voice is a whisper and she can feel him smile against her skin, suddenly realizing how close they actually are as his hands move further underneath her shirt.

Her head feels dizzy while his fingers brush over the sensitive skin right under her bra, just like they did weeks ago in a secret moment in the music room. But this time he doesn’t stop there and she bites on her lower lip while he explores her body without even seeing it.

Without a warning his hands are behind her again, pulling her even further against him by pressing his fingers into the skin of her lower back and the only thing keeping them apart are the two layers of clothes between them. She tries not to show it, but her head keeps spinning from the sudden movement and the pain from her headache is written all over her face.

“Liar”. His lips disappear from her neck and he looks at her when she opens her eyes, her hands clinging to his shoulders for balance.

There is a small smile on his lips but also concern in his dark pupils as he moves one hand away from her back, reaches up to brush some of the loose strands of hair out of her face behind her ear. “How about breakfast? That will help with your hangover”.

“I’m not hungry”, she claims, and he raises his eyebrows, because common - Archie Andrews knows damn well when Betty Cooper is lying.

“Alright, maybe eating isn’t the worst idea right now”, she admits with a sigh. “But hey – we will continue this when I feel better, right?” She climbs out of the bed, trying to avoid the feeling of loss as soon his hands part from her body and she loses her balance for a few seconds before standing on both feet.

A quite laugh escapes his mouth as he shakes his head, watching her change into her yellow dress, this time without feeling the need to look away. “That’s the plan, Cooper”.

They eat at the kitchen table, laughing over his burned pancakes when his mom walks in, obviously surprised to see Betty sitting across from her son on one of the wooden chairs, smiling at the red-haired boy with shining eyes.

“Hey you two”. Betty knows Mrs. Andrews good enough to read her surprised but also happy expression as she watches the two at this early hour, clearly questioning the fact how Betty Cooper ended up here at this early time. 

“Hey mom”. Archie smiles at his mom when she walks around them, reaching for a cup of coffee. “I made some pancakes, you can eat if you’re hungry…”.

“I’m not hungry, but thank you”. The red-haired woman smiles at the two teenagers while taking a sip of her coffee. “It’s nice to see you two spending more time together again”, she admits.

Betty knows that Archie’s mom was always a fan of their friendship and a part of her is curious but also frightened about her reaction, if she would find out that their friendship had developed into something much more complicated in the last few months.

“Yeah… now that most of the exams are over we have a little more free time… that helps a lot”, Betty answers with a warm smile, looking at Archie and then at his Mom at the kitchen counter.

Mrs. Andrews smiles back to her, taking another sip of her drink. “You are doing the right thing. Meet each other as often as possible… someday this summer will be over and I don’t think that Archie will have much time to visit anyone when he leaves to the Navy”.

There is a beat of silence after her words and Bettys eyes wander from Mrs. Andrews to Archie in slow motion. He looks a little scared but also worried the second their gazes meet in the middle and he puts the pancake in his hand down on his plate, his words soft and pleading. “Betty, listen…”.

“You’re going to the Navy?” Her voice is quite and feels like the words of a ghost while her mind is trying to progress the information she just received. “You’re going to the Naval Academy?”

The shadows on his face confirm every doubt and fear inside her. “Yes. I signed the papers a week ago, I wanted to tell you but…”.

“Oh my god”. She is standing up without really thinking about it, trying to get away from this shock and confrontation without breaking down in front of Mrs. Andrews.

“It was nice to see you Mrs. Andrews”. She fights a smile on her face and knows by the way Archie’s mom looks at her that she didn’t even know that Betty had no idea about Archie’s plans.

“Betty, please stay, I’m sorry, I didn’t know that he hadn’t told you yet, I…”.

“It’s okay… I just need to go”. She grabs her jacket and her bag from the chair beside her because hell, she doesn’t want to feel this way and god, she doesn’t want to make a scene but she just can’t fight the feeling of some sort of betrayal.

Her mind spins in circles the second she opens the front door and steps out into the sunlight, breathing in the warm morning air.

“Betty, wait”.

Of course, he is behind her when she crosses the front yard and the moment he reaches for her arm she spins around, her yellow dress flowing in the wind around her when she meet his pained look with furious eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Her voice sounds broken but she doesn’t even care anymore. “The Navy Academy, Archie? Really? Why?!”

“There wasn’t a good moment to tell you, Betty, we didn’t speak to each other the last few days”, he responses, heat and worry swinging in his words.

She hates that he is right but that doesn’t help to control the raging, pained emotions inside her that took her by surprise just like the words of his mom did seconds ago. Her face turns to the side, her green eyes blinking against the sunlight while she escapes his grip by shaking her arm loose, taking a step away from him.

“So what? You will just leave to the Navy and never come back?” Her words aren’t fair and she knows that.

“No, it’s not like that… it will be for four years, not for forever”.

A laugh escapes her mouth at his answer and she looks back to him, meeting his eyes in the middle. “And after that? You will just return to Riverdale… and then what? You will work here as a soldier or something like that? The Navy doesn’t work like that and you know it!”

“That’s not fair, Betty and you know it! I’m leaving to join the Navy, yes that’s true. But you are also leaving, did you forget about that? You will go to New Haven for the next few years, you will study at Yale. What did you expect? That I will stay here and do what exactly? Waiting for you to come back? That doesn’t make sense…”.

The summer wind carries his words through the air, his echo ringing in her ears and they just stare at each other, both hurt and upset about the current situation.

Her fingers are clinging into the jackets in her arms as she speaks again. “Well maybe you’re right… maybe this doesn’t make sense… none of this makes sense”.

It takes a moment for him to reply. “What do you mean?”

“All of this”, she simply answers, voice broken, tears of sadness and anger in her eyes. “Us... everything. I mean what are we even doing here Archie? What is all of this? We can’t… we can’t keep doing this. I mean where will all of this end? We meet each other this summer, we… we go out, we fall deeper and deeper into this mess that we created, just to break apart in the end? We… we will only hurt each other at the end of this summer because we will leave and go in different directions… and it doesn’t even matter what we do, we can’t change the future. This… this will end in a disaster and you know it.”

He looks at her like he wants to laugh and scream at the same time, disbelieve and shock painted on his face. Archie shakes his head, looks up to the blue sky as an unbelievable laugh escapes his throat. “Well… if that is the way you see all of this… then maybe you’re right.”

His head turns back down to her, his face slowly turning into a cold mask in front of her eyes. “What’s the point, right? Maybe it’s for the better if we end this right here? Maybe I won’t even fit in your perfect agenda when I return from the Navy… and, well… I guess when you think this between us – whatever this even is - isn’t something worth fighting for in the first place… then maybe you’re right and we shouldn’t even pretend that this could lead somewhere”.

He turns around right after his speech and goes back inside his house as the wind carries his words with him, hallowing inside Bettys head for several seconds. The blonde girl looks at the closed front door for a while, her heart hammering inside her chest, silent voices in her head screaming at her all at once.

There are tears in her eyes when she turns away and walks down the street, all the happiness slowly leaving her body while she tries to convince herself that everything will be okay, that everything will make sense in the end… _and that she didn’t just leave her heart on the doorstep of a boy that she loved before she even knew what love really was._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry that this chapter took so long... I'm already writing on the next one to upload sooner next time :)  
> Thank you to all the people to left Kudos or commented on the least chapter!! <3
> 
> Stay healthy and take care!


	6. Carry the Torch

“Cheryl, I told you this before and I’m saying it again… I won’t go”.

“My dear cousin… this is the night that we all waited for since the first day of school! Don’t you think you will miss out on something when you don’t go?”

“I think I can live with that”.

It’s a Wednesday afternoon in late June for the citizen in Riverdale. It’s a warm and sunny day for all the people in town that seem to get happier with every summer day that passes by.

It’s a normal day for most of the people.

But not for everyone.

It’s the 26.th June, also known as the Prom night for the Riverdale High students.

The exams are finished, graduation is only two days away and the only thing that is going through the minds of most people is what dress to wear or how to style their hair for this special event.

Betty was about to leave the school when Cheryl followed her to the street, her red lipstick shining against the bright sunlight.

“Oh common… you can’t just _not_ go to prom”.

“She is right Betty… you should come too. We can go together; this will be great”. Kevin is appearing on Betty’s left side, focused on his mobile phone, a smile appearing on his face. “Fangs is coming too! You can’t say no Betty, I know that prom was something that you looked forward too since forever… don’t throw this away”.

The blonde girl sights and blinks against the sunlight, her eyes meeting the ones of her best friend. “I don’t even have a dress Kev. Prom is tonight and there is no way that I can buy one in this short time”.

“Normally I don’t to something like this”. Cheryl’s face turns into a grimace and she throws her long hair over her shoulder. “But I’m sure I can find something in my closet for you… you can borrow a dress from me”.

“Seriously? Who are you and what have you done to Cheryl?” Betty tries to fight the laugh in her throat as her red-haired cousin only shrugs with her shoulders and responses: “Well… maybe I need every vote I can get to make TT and myself prom queens tonight. So? You’re going?”

“Cheryl…”.

“I won’t ask again, Betty. Either you come with us or you sit alone in your room like the last few weeks, continuing to be miserable… have you seen yourself lately? You look scandalous, and don’t even get me started about your hair, have you heard about something called hairdresser or…”.

A sight is coming over Bettys lips as she throws her school bag over her shoulders, rolling her eyes while answering. “Okay… I’ll come…”.

“Perfect.” Kevin and Cheryl share a smile and Betty just knows that at some point she would regret this decision.

She follows Cheryl to Thistlehouse right after school, eats lunch with her, Toni and Nana Rose and has to admit that it’s actually kind of delightful to eat at a table without having your ex-boyfriend either shooting death-stares in your direction or ignoring your presence completely.

Sitting on Cheryl’s bed and watching her and Toni search for prom dresses in their closet makes her thoughts drift off in places that she tries to hide and keep away from her mind.

It’s been two weeks since Betty genuinely felt happy… the day when se woke up in Archie’s arms right after the house party. The morning when everything seemed to be perfect and several minutes after that everything fell apart in front of her, leaving her with nothing but the mixed emotions inside herself.

Betty knows that that fight she had with Archie that morning wasn’t necessary. And she damn well knows that it’s her fault that he won’t speak or even look at her in school anymore. After all these years of knowing Archie, laughing with Archie but also fighting with Archie she knows how he reacts to certain situations. Usually their fights were about silly, stupid things and would never last more than a few hours.

But this… this is different. And that scares her.

Her words were unfair, she knows that. And by the way his broken face is still painted Infront of her every time she closes her eyes, she knows that this time… this time she really messed up.

But the truth is, Betty Cooper believes in the words she said to him. Maybe the way she threw them at his face wasn’t the best option… but the anger and sadness that the news about the Naval Academy triggered in her, overruled her like a wave of emotions. It pulled away the ground under her feet, pushed her into freefall and made her realize that the future is something unstable and that the love and luck she has right now isn’t something that will stay for long… and that losing Archie and the warmth and happiness he means to her, isn’t something she could bare after spending a whole summer with him. No matter the feelings, no matter the price.

_Betty lost so much in the last months. Losing Archie would be the final nail in her coffin._

It hurts like hell thinking back about the moment in his front yard, his broken face and the partly unspoken feelings about them. But this… this would be better in the long run. She is sure about that.

“Here… try this one”.

It takes one hour to find the perfect dress for Betty, partly because it’s not so easy to fit in Cheryl’s skintight clothes and partly because her cousin is wearing a dark, red dress and Betty isn’t really allowed to wear the same color.

“You look great Betty”. Toni is smiling at her with an encouraging expression while the blonde girl stares at her reflection in the mirror in front of her, eyes gazing at the light, purple color, hands slowly drifting over the soft fabric on her body.

Betty always dreamt about the senior prom evening. This was always supposed to be a happy day that she would spend with friends and people close to her… she knows that the actual prom could never live up to the expectations she built up over years. Maybe that’s the reason she didn’t even plan on going. And now here she is, standing in a purple dress, just a few hours right before the event she wanted to avoid so much.

She turns around, fighting a smile on her lips. “Thank you guys… I… I really didn’t plan on going to prom this time but I guess you’re right and… maybe this isn’t something anyone should miss”.

“Correct”. Cheryl walks around the bed, shooting Betty one last glance before watching herself in the mirror. “So quit this self-pity look on your face, pull yourself together and… god, please fix your hair and makeup before you leave the house tonight.”

Betty ends up leaving Thistlehouse a few minutes later, the dress in a red bag from Cheryl over her shoulders and mixed emotions insider her chest.

She tries not to think about the upcoming night too much while getting ready in her room at 5pm, sitting at her desk in her room, mind racing and pulse quickening as her eyes find the reflection of the window behind her back in the mirror in front of her.

_Will Archie be there? Of course, he will…_

But that’s not the only thing on her mind that makes her head feel dizzy. Jughead and Veronica will be there as well… and she has no idea how to survive a night that she once imagined to be beautiful… and that imagination will turn into a disaster because of the mistakes she did.

**Be ready at 7! I’ll pick you up! – _Kevin Keller; 5:48pm_**

A part of her is glad that Kevin leaves her no choice to cancel the plans, a part of her wants to throw up because of her nervousness. She tries to focus on getting ready and turns her hair into soft, golden waves, letting it fall around here faces just like at the prom night some years ago. Betty tries not to think about that night too much… or maybe she just tries not to think about anything at all right now.

Kevin and Fangs are waiting in the car one hour later and Betty is kind of glad that she doesn’t meet anyone on her way outside.

“Betty, you look stunning”. These are Kevin’s first words the second she climbs on the backseat.

“Thank you, Kev”. She answers with a smile. “You two look amazing as well!”

They spent the car ride chatting about the upcoming night, talking about the clothes and music, people and dance partners.

When they reach the school it’s already dawn and the parking lot is filled with people, laughter and music from the sports hall swinging through the air.

They walk through the crowd of known faces and step inside, admiring the loud pop music and red and golden decoration all over the room.

Everything looks so beautiful that for a second, Betty’s breath gets caught in her throat by looking at the beauty of this room. She follows Kevin and Fangs to the improvised bar where some drinks are piled up on some school tables and a second later, they all have a red cup in their hands.

“Cheers… cheers to High School and this damn town!” Kevin smiles at them and Fangs just mumbles. “Cheers to finally leaving this hell hole behind”.

The punch tastes just like it looks – sweet, sticky and nonalcoholic. What an ironic way to end high school.

They meet Cheryl and Toni a few minutes later, the red-haired girl in a dark wine-colored dress and Toni wearing a dark-blue one.

One hour after their arrival the room is filled with people, an amusing mixture of black suits and glitter dresses jumping in rhythm to the music mix Cheryl threw into the jukebox.

Betty tries her best to be good company to her friends. She joins them at the dance floor, dancing in one big group and laughs whenever someone says something funny. But she can’t prevent herself from looking through the crowed room from time to time, searching for other known faces.

It’s 10pm when her eyes land on a raven-haired girl across the room, dresses in a simple but beautiful black dress, wrapped around her like a second skin.

Veronica Lodge is talking to a group of River vixens while her red-painted lips are curved into a big smile, clearly talking about something gratifying with the other cheerleaders.

Betty doesn’t notice the sad smile that appears on her face or the oppressive pain in her whole body while gazing to her old best-friend, not only looking through the dancing crowd but also starring at the well-known past that somehow seems to be a lot better than the current reality.

She turns away, tries to shake every sad thought out of her head and excuses herself with a “I’m gonna go and get another drink” in Kevin’s direction, stumbles towards the beverage stand and gripping some new cup filled with this silly punch.

Her eyes are fixed on the table while a shadow appears right next to her.

It’s strange how she knows it’s him just because of the feeling of his presence right next to her and he doesn’t even need to say something while she reaches for another drink, her eyes still pointed at the table, her hands shaking a little because _of course_ he is here and _of course_ he would find her.

“Are you alright?” Archie’s voice sounds concerned, and she closes her eyes for a second, trying to push all the overwhelming feelings inside her back to the ground. The music changes to another song in the background and approving cheers of the people fills the stuffy air while Betty opens her eyes again, takes the new cup in her hands and turns to the person beside her.

“We messed up”. She doesn’t really know why the hell she tells him something like that, but it dawns to her that seeing Veronica tonight and now starring at Archie’s brown eyes right in front of her made her confront the reality she tried to avoid for the past days.

“What are you talking about?” He pulls her out of her thoughts with that question and she _really_ looks at him for the first time tonight. Archie is wearing a simple black suit with a white shirt underneath and she hates the fact that she always imagined him to look like this whenever she dreamt about this night. His hair is styled a little different than the last months, a little messier than before just like at junior prom some years ago. But the look on his face isn’t happy like it used to be, and it takes everything in her power to hold the intense gaze of his eyes on hers.

“We… we destroyed everything, Archie”. This isn’t how she had planned on talking to him again after the two weeks of silence between them but somehow everything seems to go the wrong way in the last few months and she can’t help but feel guilty about everything that went wrong.

“This… this was supposed to be the best night of High School, remember? And now… look at us.”

He looks down to her a long moment, his eyes wandering over her face and a sad smile appears in the curve of his lips. “Well, Betty… I know that we made mistakes. But at one point you have to keep going and move forward. _I know_ we messed up. But I’m not the one pushing everyone away because of that”.

His words ring in her ears as she looks up to him and she knows he wants to say something else by the way his mouth opens again. But then he turns away without another word, leaving her alone with her thoughts and feelings while she realizes that everything she touches seems to die right in her hands.

She watches him disappear in the moving crowd and she puts the empty cup in her hands down again, turns away as well as she spots another person on the other end of the beverage stand.

Jughead Jones is leaning against the wall in the shadows of the room, a red cup in his hand, dressed in a grey suit, the dark beanie on his head making his signature look complete.

Her heart breaks a little by this sight, because god – she once loved this guy with all her heart, and she knows that the broken look on his face as he found out about her and Archie will haunt her till the day she dies.

“Hey Jughead”. She doesn’t really know why her feet are caring her to his side but suddenly she is standing right before him, crossing her arms in front of her chest, trying to comfort herself. His face turns in her direction and he just stares at her for a few seconds, his face unreadable and for a moment she thinks that maybe he will just turn away and leave her.

But he doesn’t go and a part of her is glad about that. “Hello, Betty”. She is surprised by the way he fights a smile on his face and he lifts the cup in his hand and takes a sip. Talking to Jughead feels surreal. They live together and yet they never spoke on word to each other since the last months. Maybe that’s the reason she doesn’t know what to say to him and an awkward silence follows her words which forces a small smile on Jugheads lips. “Don’t know what to say, huh?”

His words aren’t mocking, he just seems amused by that. “Can’t blame you cause I don’t know what to say either”.

He takes another sip and she just speaks the words that were lying on her tongue the entire time. “I’m sorry”. There is pain and guilt in her voice and this time he doesn’t he doesn’t look disgusted by her words and just looks at her, reads the emotions on her face.

“I’m sorry about everything that happened… I’m sorry that I hurt you… and I’m sorry that I ruined everything. Not only our relationship but also our friendship”.

He takes another sip and she is wondering how many more he can take till the cup is finally empty.

Another song starts to play, and he leaves her words hanging in the air for a solid minute until he answers. “I know you are sorry Betty.” _Finally,_ the cup seems to be empty as he crumbles the plastic in his hands and throws the lump on the desk beside him before looking back to her with a surprising neutral expression. “I know that you didn’t mean on… hurting me, I guess. Which made the progress of forgiving you a lot harder, let me tell you this.” A quite laugh comes over his lips. “But I know how you struggle with the aftermath of all this mess. And I know you well enough to read the emotions on your face”. He shrugs with his shoulders and puts his hands in his pockets. “I know that you are sorry… so… I’m not mad at you anymore.”

She stares at him for a few seconds, questioning herself if she heard that right. “You’re not mad at me anymore?”

He shakes his head, the dim light of the room painting shadows on his face. “I’m kind of glad how everything turned out”, he simply answers, before adding. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not happy about this whole cheating part. But… but I guess a part of me always knew how this would end. It’s not like that I wanted it to end this way… but I guess I had enough time to think about this and from the view of an author and storyteller… I have to say that I should have seen this one coming. So yes, Betty. Yes, I was damn mad at you and believe me that this shit hurt like hell. But no, I’m not mad at you. Not anymore”.

She didn’t notice how she was holding her breath during his entire speech, until she finally lets go the second, he stops talking. Relief and disbelieve is clearing her mind as an honest smile appears on her face. “You have no idea how much that means to me, Jug. _Thank you_ ”.

“No problem, Cooper”. He smiles to assure her that he really means what he just said as the music suddenly stops in the background and Cheryl’s voice echoes through the room.

“Alright, it’s time for some real music tonight. Archie Andrews will perform one of his songs tonight, so I want a round of applause for him!” The air is filled with cheering and clapping while Betty turns towards the small stage, watching how Cheryl leaves the pedestal and hands the microphone to Archie who is appearing on the stage with his guitar over his shoulders.

“Hi”. His voice sounds a bit breathless when he finally reaches the middle of the stage, microphone now standing in front of him while he looks at the crowd with an absent look. “This is the last chance to do something embarrassing in front of the whole school, so I just had to do this”. Laughter echoes through the crowed room and Betty freezes on her spot, eyes starring at the red-haired boy.

The second he starts playing his guitar she knows.

She knows this song.

She knows this melody.

She knows these words.

_"There's no warning when everything changes,_

_you let down your guard and I saw something strange,_

_I thought, she's not made for this world_

_and neither am I._

_'Cause you make me wanna be_

_Stronger than I am._

_Maybe I'm reaching, misplacing a feeling._

_There's no way to know but to try…"._

This feels like a throwback and a dream all at once and there is nothing that Betty can do than to stand here and look at Archie, eyes wide, heartbeat faster with every word he speaks.  
“He’s good, isn’t he?” She forgot that Jughead is still standing beside her and his voice is only reaching her in waves while she just nods as an answer.

_"So give me tonight,_

_I don't know much._

_But I know this feels right._

_So give me tonight,_

_If you carry the torch._

_I'd follow the light._

_I'd follow the light"._

His warm voice takes her back to the first night they met in the bunker, remembers his soft gaze and his true words, memories cutting her mind like knifes.

_“I know dreaming is a deceitful feeling,_

_and we spent some years with unobserved healing._

_Truth is, you can’t predict the future_

_And neither can I._

_I still remember the thousands of times_

_When you were the one, I wanted by my side_

_You are the light, every time I close my eyes_

_Showing every buried feeling and unintended lie._

_The world without you, turns suddenly grey_

_and I’m left with nothing, can simply just pray.”_

This is new. That is a part she hasn’t heard before and maybe that’s the reason Archie’s eyes seem to search for her in the crowd.

“It’s kind of a waste that he isn’t following this music thing”, Jughead says beside her but her eyes are still fixed on Archie’s face the entire time. “This would have been a better fit than this Navy thing… it’s a shame that he is already leaving on Monday”.

That’s the first time she turns her head to Jughead beside her, his words entering her mind in slow speed. “What are you talking about?”

“He talked to me yesterday”, Jughead replies with a neutral voice, shrugging his shoulders once more. “We talked about everything that happened… It seems like he wanted to get things right before he leaves. He told me that he will catch the train on Monday morning. I thought you knew that”.

_No. No I didn’t._

_“I know that I hurt you, and I wasn’t right,_

_When I think back to this dark summer night._

_Letting go something that always seemed bright_

_To replace it with something that’s not worth the fight.”_

Slowly her gaze wanders back to the stage and this time Archie seems to find her in the crowd as their eyes meet and her world stops. He seems to know that something isn’t right by the way her face appears to be in absolute shock and it feels like all the air is leaving her lungs within seconds.

_He is leaving on Monday. He is leaving in five days._

_"So give me tonight,_

_I don't know much._

_But I know this feels right._

_So give me tonight,_

_If you carry the torch._

_I'd follow the light._

_I'd follow the light"._

The room explodes in applause the second he sings the last word, but Betty doesn’t even hear a thing. The world around her just stops spinning and freezes in place as she can hear her own heartbeat in her veins, and she seems to forget how to breath. Archie’s eyes are still lingering on her face and she turns away, nearly falls over Jugheads feet as she tries to leave the crowed room.

“I’m sorry”, she mumbles as she pushes past him, stumbling through the gathering of people, not able to look up anymore, her eyes fixed on the ground beneath her as she reaches the door and rushes outside.

The darkness is the first thing she sees the second she walks out of the hall behind her, cold air crawling up her skin and she quickly realizes why the temperature dropped so drastically. She looks up and blinks against one of the bright streetlamps, cold rain falling down on her while she walks through the parking lot, the music and voices from behind her getting washed away by the falling raindrops.

The rain is so loud that she can’t even hear her own heels click under her feet, but she doesn’t even care anymore because _fuck – how did everything turn into such a mess?_

“Betty!” She doesn’t even need to turn around to see who it is because a part of her already knew that he would follow her. “Betty, hey wait!”

It’s Archie’s second call that makes her turn around and she watches him walking towards her through the darkness, his silhouette painted in streetlights, his red hair a sharp contrast to the darkness around them.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Her voice is a cry in the night, and she feels absolutely broken standing here, starring at the guy that means the most to her in the world. “Why… why didn’t you tell me that you’re leaving on Monday?!”

The shadows on his face can’t hide the emotions from her as he steps closer, leaving a few meters between them. “I wanted to tell you”, he answers with a firm voice, clearly trying to defend himself. “But you kept pushing me away every time I wanted to talk to you! Even tonight… we barely spoke to each other and you were clearly trying to forget about everything that happened, so I thought that maybe I should just leave… maybe this would be for the better”.

He waits for her to answer, rain running over his whole body but he doesn’t even seem to care.

Betty tried to push feelings back to the ground for way too long to keep them buried tonight. Maybe she thought that moving on would be better, maybe everything seemed to be fine until she found out that he is actually leaving.

“So, you were going to leave just like that?” Her words are a pure accusation and she throws them at him over the loud noise of the rain. “Without saying goodbye?!”

There is so much pain between them and she knows that he can feel this too. She waits for an answer but he just looks back to her, confirming her apprehension without a word.

A cry is leaving her lips and she is pretty sure her tears are blending with the raindrops on her face but she doesn’t care anymore. There is no place for sadness right now, everything seems to disappear, making room for anger.

“Why did you sing that song?”, she asks while brushing wet hair out of her face, her whole body trembling and dripping.

“Because you didn’t let me finish it that night at the bunker”. His answer is direct. “And I wanted you to hear it at least one time”. _Before I go_. He doesn’t say these words out lout, but they are written between them, just like a ghost of their past.

“This doesn’t even make any sense!” There is so much anger swinging in her voice but they both know that she is just trying to conceal the pain and sorrow underneath, lying in her chest, eating her alive second by second. “You want to leave but then you sing that song!”

“At least it makes more sense than your stupid behavior the last two weeks!” This time he takes a step in her direction so she can see the raw emotions in his eyes while he speaks. “I mean what did you expect me to do, Betty? You shut me out the second it got a little difficult between us! First you kiss me, then you send me these text messages… then you slam a door in my face just because I’m having plans for the future?”

She blinks against the streetlights and the rain all at once, never leaving his eyes. “I never wanted to do this, Archie, I never meant to shut you out. But you told me that you will be leaving to the Navy and just expect me to be fine with that?!”

“I never said that you should be fine with that, but I expected a different reaction, that’s true”, he replies in the same harsh voice, taking another step in her direction. “You told me right to my face that being with me wouldn’t be worth the fight, so why is it that hard for you to understand that I’m leaving in a few days?”

“Because we spent nearly our whole lives together, Archie! You think that it will be easy for me to see you leave?!” Her voice is broken but filled with anger, because _fuck – why can’t he see how much this costs her?_

He is so close to her that she can see the raindrops in his hair while he runs his hand through it. “You’re acting this weird because we won’t be neighbors anymore?” A silly laugh escapes his mouth and he blinks against the rain. “Damn, Betty… that’s selfish”.

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it!” Her voice breaks again as she stares up to him, her eyes searching over the shadows on his face. “It’s not because we won’t be living next to each other”.

“Then what?!” His eyes catch her gaze. “Is it because I won’t be…”.

She interrupts him in the middle of his sentence, her words cutting through the air like knifes, her voice echoing through the night like a prayer. “It’s because I love you, Arch”.

His mouth falls shut immediately, followed by completely silence as he stares at her, obviously totally surprised by her words.

She is angry because this isn’t the way she imagined this moment and she hates that he just stares at her like that. “I love you, okay?! I know this isn’t something totally new, but do you have any idea how it feels like to let you go just like this?” She nearly screams at him, devastated by the fact that he obviously doesn’t even care about this. “You will just leave and I know this isn’t fair but _god_ , I hate that I have these feelings and I can’t do anything about them or about the fact that we will leave each other either way, because we have to go separate ways and I just know that I will miss you like-“.

He cuts her off with taking a step forward, cups her face in his hands and kisses her.

A surprised sound is coming out of her throat as she closes her eyes leans into his touch, gives into the warmth of his body and just shuts every doubt out of her mind in this moment.

She didn’t realize how long they have been standing here, arguing in the rain until her hands are clinging to his soaked clothes, her fingers run through his wet hair and she can feel his hands over her body, trying to pull her closer to him. It’s not easy getting a good grip on someone in this situation and she smiles against his lips as his fingers slip over the wet skin on her back.

All the anger, all the sadness, all the doubt leaves her body within seconds and everything left is the unbearable love and desire for the guy in her arms.

_She will lose him. She will lose Archie Andrews. She knows that, but he seems to tear that thought out of her head with his presence right in front of her._

“Did you… understand… what… I… was saying… I will miss you so much Archie”. Her words come out in whispers between kisses and at one point he just sights against her lips. “Stop talking”. With that he takes her hand and leads her towards the darkness, pulling her to his car and they hurry inside, completely ignoring the fact that they are already completely wet.

The next minutes go by in a blur and as he drives them through the night, away from the school that brought them so much misery. She remembers only short moments from the night he picked her up at Cheryl’s party, but she knows that this time, something changed.

It’s the way his hand searches for hers while he drives and how she can feel his eyes on her from time to time. This is the first time she is able to shut down every bad thought in her head and devotes everything she has and everything she can give to the person beside her.

This time she doesn’t have to say anything when he parks the car in front of their houses, and he doesn’t ask where she wants to go while he jumps out of the car and opens the door on her side right after.

He just looks at her a few seconds while he stands in front of the opened car door in the dark, hair and clothes still wet, eyes shining and a small smile on his face as he watches her take off her seat belt. He reaches out and offers her his hand. “Do you want to come over and listen to some records, Betty Cooper?”

She laughs at his question and the silliness from him, but she ends up taking his hand anyway, smiling at him while she jumps out the car. “Of course”.

It’s still raining when they walk towards the front door and he kisses her while pulling the key out of his pocket.

 _This isn’t going to solve any problems_ ; she thinks when they go inside and hurry to his room. But she can’t bear the thought of losing him any longer, so she drowns herself in the feeling of being close to him.

They never let go of each other that night and it’s clear that this is another unspoken thing between them. Betty and Archie don’t need to talk to communicate sometimes and Betty loves how simple everything seems.

_Being with Archie is safe. Kissing Archie feels electric. Loving Archie is overwhelming. Losing Archie isn’t something she doesn’t want to think about right now._

So she clings her hands in his jacket the second he closes the door of his room behind them and he bends down to her while he throws his keys to the floor. This time nothing seems to part them anymore and she thinks that maybe they finally got the timing right.

She steps out of her heels and gets on her toe tips right after, reaching up to kiss him again, while she tries to take off his wet suit jacket. He laughs at all the effort she puts in her doing and how proud she seems once the jacket finally lands on the floor behind him.

“I thought we wanted to listen to some records?” He laughs even more at the look she shoots him after that.

“Oh, okay. If you want to listen to some music we can stop right here…”.

“Like hell we are”, is his breathless reply and she laughs as he takes a small step back and pulls his white shirt off, catching her eyes on his skin through every movement. She reaches out and puts her hand on his chest, feeling the warmth where their bodies touch and is amazed how their skins look like the same under the silver moonlight shining trough the window beside them.

He reaches up and softly pulls her hand away from his chest, moving her arm in a circle so she has to turn around. Once her back is facing him, he stops turning her around and his fingers trail up her arms in slow circles, leaving shivers over the already dried skin.

Her breath quickens as he finds the zipper of her dress and a part of her wants to yell at him that he should hurry up, that she waited for too long for a precious moment like this, but somehow his slow movements make everything seem so much more intense that she isn’t able to open her mouth. In slow motion, the dress gets opened and the second the purple fabric falls to the floor and leaves her dressed in her underwear she can feel his body behind her, a soft moan leaving her mouth the moment he puts her hair over one shoulder and his lips move over her neck, barely touching her, leaving a dizzy feeling inside her head.

“Betty?” His voice is breathless and raspy as his hands stroke over her shoulders, slowly turning her back around to him. His eyes seem black in the darkness of his room and she stares up to him in total admiration, dealing with the feeling of loss and desire all at once.

She waits for him to speak again and it seems like he wants to get her full attention for his words as he catches her gaze with his own, pulling her whole presence in, like a moth to the light.

“I love you too”. He is letting the electric silence around them carry his words through the night and she realizes that she isn’t even surprised by his words. There is so much that she feels right know. Loss, pain, love, desire, joy but all above so much gratefulness for this moment. Betty Cooper did a lot of mistakes and in some weird, twisted way she always thought that she could never deserve some light in her life again.

Looking at Archie in this moment makes it clear to her that the light never left her life. Not even once. It was always there. Shining through a small window from the house beside hers.

There are so much things she wants to say to him.

_I love you too._

_I loved you for years._

_I loved you before I even knew what love means._

But the only thing leaving her lips is a quite “ _Arch_ …”, accompanied by a smile in the dark and some tears of joy in her eyes as she tells him everything he needs to know through the way she touches him. She is back on her tip toes, her arms wrapping around his shoulders as he lifts her up by pulling her to his chest.

The next thing she feels is his matrass under her back and his lips on hers and Betty realizes that a part of her waited for this a whole lifetime. Not only being near to him, but being this emotionally connected to him, sharing her thoughts and feelings with him and being so vulnerably open to her best friend who is so much more than just a friend.

This is the first night she finally feels the unfolded emotions between them, paired with the intense feeling of being so much closer to him than all the years before.

They never slept with each other before and it should be awkward or at least a bit uneasy between them, but the truth is that it somehow feels like they know exactly what to do.

All the bad thoughts in her head get carried away, get thrown out of her reach just like her underwear does at one point and all she can think about is how much she not only loves him but also this moment.

_She loves_ this very moment.

 _She loves_ how his skin feels on her own.

 _She loves_ how exited but also calm she feels whenever he looks at her.

 _She loves_ how he caresses her skin and how he seems to know exactly where and how to touch her to make her bite her lip.

 _She loves_ how he isn't hesitant or careful with her because Archie _knows_ Betty and getting to know her body is just the last missing piece of the puzzle, the game they played over years, finally winning and finally finishing the perfect picture.

 _She loves_ the feeling of his lips on her when he explores her body, taking all the time in the world, smiling against her skin when she pulls on his hair in an impatient way.

 _She loves_ how he seems to be surprised by the way she knows how to touch him as well and she just knows that she will never get enough of the look on his face when desire, lust but also love is painted in his eyes.

 _She loves_ how he smiles into their kisses from time to time whenever her fingers curl up in his messy hair or her nails seem to leave marks on his bare back.

 _She loves_ the feeling of wholeness every time they sleep with each other in that night and she finally understands the meaning of the song they once sung together.

 _She loves_ how she understands the concept of two bodies finding their way back to each other to be whole again because if anything, this has to be the origin of love after all.

They not once lose touch in this night and she is past the point of thinking about sleep at all. She doesn’t need to rest because this right here is the only thing she really wants.

They don’t talk much until the sun goes up the next morning, only their names lingering in the air like soft spoken prayers from time to time.

He holds her tighter then ever and she falls asleep in his arms when the first sunray shines through the window, skin on skin, closer than before but never close enough.

She can feel his lips on the side of her forehead as he leaves one last kiss on the blonde girl in his arms and she knows that whatever happens or wherever they go from here… this between them… this will never change.

So they sleep arm in arm, not worrying about the future or the past because right here, right now they are together - _They are finally on the same side of the window._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to the people who left Kudos or comments on the last chapter!!!! <3  
> I REALLY hope you guys liked this chapter… I really tried my best to make this prom chapter something special..
> 
> I don't know if anyone noticed it, but I tried to finish Archie's song on my own... don't judge me guys, I'm not good at rhymes haha but I hope it worked. 
> 
> Hope you all have a nice weekend <3


	7. The Stranger Is Always You

**_4 days_ **

Betty always knew that the ending of High School would be bittersweet. Because as much as she hated all the studying or homework, she knew for sure that missing her friends and leaving this chapter of her life behind would be a heartbreaking but also fundamental experience leading up to a future that was just as exciting as frightening.

The girl next door won’t be the girl next door anymore. And realizing that makes her heart ache.

_She will leave school._

_She will leave Riverdale._

_She will leave Archie. She will lose Archie in 4 days._

Betty knows that she loves him. She knows it the day after the prom night, waking up in his arms, smiling at his sleepy expression when looks at her and the first thing he does is pulling her even closer to him.

 _I love you_ ; she thinks when his fingertips slide over her skin, mirroring his movements from the night before.

 _And I love you_ ; he tells her by kissing her slowly, making her close her eyes and give in to the warmth and intensity of his presence.

They spent the whole day together, drowning in the newfound happiness, tangled to the other’s body, never leaving his room for longer than five minutes.

There aren’t many words between them, and Betty knows why neither of them dares to speak. Maybe because they could break the spell between them which finally seems to make time and place right for them.

Or maybe… maybe because if they would talk to each other, they would have to speak about the unavoidable truth that is still hanging in the air right in front of them.

Because all of this doesn’t matter in the end, does it?

_They love each other._

_But they are still leaving._

Love is strong, love is powerful. But she can’t conceal everything… at least not forever.

Betty tries to keep her thoughts happy, tries everything she can to focus on this good thing right in front of her.

But not even the girl next door is able to shut out the excruciating doubts and worries for longer than a few hours.

“What are we going to do, Arch?” Her voice is barely a whisper and she stares to the ceiling with dreamy eyes, sadness and trepidation written in her face.

He lays right beside her, turned on the side, facing her with a silent expression while he slowly plays with her hair with his left hand, fingers stroking through the golden curls that fall all over his pillow.

She knows he is watching her but she doesn’t dare to meet his gaze and keeps looking up, trying to shake off the feelings of loss and helplessness.

“I have no idea” he admits quietly, his raspy voice filling the silent room for a short moment.

His words make her head turn and her eyes meet his, her voice breaking while she speaks. “I don’t want to miss you Archie… I… I just got you and I can’t lose _you_ , can’t lose _this,_ I…”.

“Hey…”. He interrupts her before she dives into the sadness to deep, reaches out to catch her gesticulating hand and he knows by the way her gaze softens that it calms her immediately. “Right now, we are together. Right now, we are still here, okay? I don’t know how you feel about this… but that makes me happy. And I don’t plan on spending this last few days being sad and killing myself with doubts and worries.”

A few seconds pass by and she just stares into his dark eyes, listening to her own heartbeat in her chest, feeling the warmth of his touch around her wrist.

“ _Four days_ ”, she whispers the words that seem to form into a promise. Four days of happiness, four days of ignoring the future. Four days just the two of them.

He nods and she knows he is trying his best to hide it… but she doesn’t miss the spark of sadness under the mask he is wearing. “ _Four days_ ”, he answers and fights a smile on his face, as she leans towards him, drowning herself in their closeness, addicted like it’s her own personal poison.

Betty knows that her love for him is written in her eyes the following days.

Her mom is the first one to notice the little smirk on her lips as soon as she returns home 24 hours after the actual prom, dressed in one of Archie’s shirts and the purple dress from Cheryl thrown over her shoulder.

“I was worried about you, honey”. Alice says as Betty is about to climb the stairs and she turns around to look at the blonde woman who is sitting in the living room. “You should have called”.

“I’m sorry Mom”. _She really is_. But she can’t hide the smile on her face as her mom examines the big shirt she is wearing, obviously knowing where or who she spent the last few hours with.

“I’m happy that you’re happy Betty”. Her honesty is shown in the way she smiles back at her but soon after that her expression changes into concern. “But… do you know what you are doing, sweetie?”

Their eyes meet and there is nothing left to say because they both know what she means with that. The unspoken obviousness is laying between them like a fall that is about to snap any second.

_Do you know what you are doing?_

_Do you know that the Naval Academy starts in one week?_

_Do you know that your happiness is stuck in an hourglass and the sand is vanishing under your feet just like the time you have left with him?_

Betty thinks about a good answer to that until she realizes that there isn’t one. “I have no idea, mom”.

So she leaves her sitting there and rushes up the stairs, trying to fight the overwhelming feeling of losing something unexplainable.

The next day goes by like a warm summer breeze.

It all feels like a dream somehow, just like a montage of one of these old movies Betty used to watch with Polly and her mom when they were younger.

Archie picks her up right after breakfast the next morning and they drive out of Riverdale to the little lake they used to go swimming everyday when they were younger.

She remembers the time when they were here with Veronica and Jughead and the memory is still so vivid to her that it takes her breath away for a few seconds as she stands on one of the rocks and stares to the water under her.

Those were darker times. Times when she was scared that Archie might end up in jail for a murder he didn’t even commit. Those were times when she was in love with Jughead Jones and she had a best friend named Veronica Lodge by her side.

 _That’s the past_ ; she thinks and her heart lies heavy in her chest while feeling the perceptible absence of once so loved company.

She turns around as Archie pulls his white shirt off his body, throwing it to the ground beside him and she knows by the way his eyes meet hers that he feels something similar like her.

But this isn’t the time or place to be sad or melancholic because at this point all of that doesn’t even matter anymore. The future is one step away and none of them can go back.

That’s the reason why she doesn’t even defend herself as Archie reaches down and pulls his arms under her with a sudden move, picking her up so she can close her arms around his neck.

She realizes way too late what is about to happen and she is about to protest because – _fuck, she is still fully dressed at this point_ – but he doesn’t even seem to care as he jumps forward with her in his arms and they crush through the surface of the cold water under them.

The water washes every bad thought out of her head as her fingers cling to Archie’s body, trying to get a good hold on him while they return to the surface, breathing in the hot summer air and admiring the harsh difference of the cold water and warm air around them.

He laughs in her ear as she wraps her legs around him, simply because she seems to be a bit overwhelmed with the situation. The shock of the cold water fastens her heartbeat a few times and she just stays in this position, right in front of him and takes a moment to calm down a little, her green summer dress floating in the water around her in an unusual emerald color.

“Sorry for that attack”, he laughs quietly, clearly realizing that he took her by surprise with that jump. They both know why he did it. Partly because he wanted to get the sad expression off her face… and partly… well because he’s simply crazy.

The blonde girl just shakes her head, slowly getting used to the cold temperatures around her.

“It’s perfect”, she simply breathes out while watching how the sun shines on the waterdrops that got caught in his hair and eyelashes.

A part of Betty has been in love with Archie for over a decade… and she damn well knows, _if she is being honest to herself_ , that this part of her always dreamt about a day like this.

This, right here, just Archie and her. Just the two of them doing simple things like going for a swim on a hot summer day, not caring about the rest of the world.

Betty looks at the guy right in front of her and finally realizes – _they actually made it._

They finally made it to this point. And it doesn’t matter how many days they have left; it doesn’t matter how little time they have together.

They achieved so much in the last few weeks and took so many big steps in their lifelong relationship… Betty knows that this is an achievement that can’t be taken from then. No matter what happens next.

Maybe that’s the happy thought that finally makes all the bad ones disappear in her head and she just smiles at her red-haired best friend and says. “You look like a wet rat right now”.

She can feel his whole body vibrating as his laugh echoes over the empty lake and she feels proud for getting such a positive and careless reaction out of him.

“Well, the compliment goes back to you, Cooper”.

And with that all the thinking and speculating over the future gets swept aside.

She screams when he splashes water in her face without any warning and she answers with pushing him under the surface, laughing as he pulls her down with him.

They act like children without really realizing it because it simply feels right to be this carefree around each other. It’s always been Betty and Archie in their own little world for several years and what may seem childish to outsiders is perfectly normal for these two.

Their actions don’t always circle around physical connection, the bond between them is something much deeper and much more emotional. Admitting that would require a lot of heavy conversation for these two and Betty knows that she isn’t quite ready to face the whole entirety of their complicated but also simple relationship.

They stay at the lake the whole day, spending hour after hour with swimming and laughing, making fun of each other and enjoying the sun on their skin, the joy and happiness never leaving their side. It’s already afternoon when they leave the place and they let the car windows wide open on their way home, letting their clothes dry from the warm summer wind.

One of the things Betty loves about spending time with Archie is that no matter how many hours they’ve been with each other – it never feels like too much. That’s the reason why it’s not even a question if she wants to come over to his house the second he parks the car in his garage and he just opens the back door to let her in first, just like they did this one hundred times before.

His mom isn’t home when they step into the kitchen and he is about to get some food out of the fridge when she jumps in his arms, making him stumble a step backwards until he catches her.

“You’re not hungry?” His question comes out in a laugh and she answers with kissing him, clinging to his body like this is the last chance to ever do that again.

“Are _you_ hungry?”, she simply replies while breaking the kiss to get some air, meeting his glance and feeling his arms tighten around her.

“Not anymore”.

They barely make it to his room while the sun sets once again, leaving them less and less time.

_**3 days** _

There is this one thing that everyone should know about the future; to walk ahead and actually move forward while doing so, you have to make peace with your past first.

Betty knows that there is one thing left that she has to make right before everything starts to change. So, she leaves Archie’s house around 12 am the next day, pulling her hair up in a ponytail like she used to do hundreds of times and slips back in the blue dress form the day before.

“Where are you going?” She looks back at him, admiring the picture of him laying on his bed only dressed in his boxer shorts, hair wild and eyes sleepy.

“I need to set some things straight”. She kisses him goodbye with a small smile on her lips and tries to ignore the thrilling feeling in her chest as his fingers brush over her cheek.

It only takes her a few minutes to leave the house and walk down the streets. She uses her walk to take everything in, all the people she sees on the streets, the buildings, the weather… she will miss Riverdale.

The summer sun is shining on her golden hair as she finally reaches the place she was coming for, taking in a deep breath, concentrating on the words in her mind, hand reaching up and slowly pushing down the doorbell in front of her.

_One, two, three…_

She counts to 10 until the door finally opens with a swing, unlocking the way into the house but also unsealing a window to her well-known past.

“Hi.” Bettys voice is soft as she meets the gaze of the raven-haired girl in front of her, watching the dark eyes of the person she once trusted with her life.

Veronica seems surprised to see her here right in front of her house and to be honest, she has every right to be. After weeks of avoiding each other, revolving around the heartbreak they all shared, it somehow seems unreal to face one another, feeling the clear emotions of each other like a punch in the stomach.

“Hey…”. Veronica seems to find her voice after clearing her throat.

“Can we talk?” The words of the blonde girl hang in the air for a few seconds and for a moment it seems like the Lodge daughter is about to slam the door in Bettys face without hesitation.

But something changes in Veronicas expression after reading the begging and despair on Betty’s face and she just nods, opening the door a little more, guiding her a way in. “Come in”.

They sit down in the living room like they did millions of times before but right now it feels much more tense than ever before. Veronica crosses her legs across from her, her chin high up in the air, sitting in her neutral defense posture and Betty tries not to smile at the well-known expression on her face.

“V… I came here to tell you that I am sorry”, she begins, speaking the words in a firm but also unsure voice. “I’m sorry about everything that happened… and that I betrayed you as a friend. That I went behind your back. That I wasn’t honest with you”.

Some seconds pass and Veronica is just starring at her, fingertips tapping up and down on her lap while she inspects her opposites face. “Took some time for you to say this to me”, she finally answers, voice underlined with an ironic laugh.

“I know. I’m sorry for that too”.

Another few seconds of silence pass by and the two girls just look at each other, so many emotions and memories flying through the air.

It takes some time for Veronica to say something but the words she speaks surprise Betty.

“I’m not gonna kill you Betty… so stop with that fearful look on your face… I’m not really mad at you anymore so you can relax a little bit”.

At first Betty thinks that this is just a trick. Maybe her mind is trying to play a prank on her. But then she sees the minimal smile in the curve of the lips of the raven-haired girl in front of her and she is starting to think that maybe, just maybe everything will be okay someday.

“You’re not?”

“Well, I’m still mad… a little bit. And I don’t think that will go away anytime soon. But it’s been nearly two months, Betty. A Lodge doesn’t hold a grudge for long.”

Silence follows once again while Betty tries to find the right words to say. “Veronica… I’m here to tell you that I never wanted to hurt you… never.” She holds her gaze with her own and tries to make it clear that she is really standing behind the words she says. “I still have no idea how… how all of this happened. This… feelings… for Archie… I didn’t plan to kiss him, V. I never wanted to… to _cheat_ on Jughead. I never wanted to break our friendship. I should have known better… but this whole situation kind of overrun me. I wasn’t able to cut Archie out of my life or even my head and… I should have handled things better. This sounds like the weakest apology, but I need you to know that I’m sorry for everything”.

Her voice breaks a little by the last sentence and she can feel how some of the burden on her shoulders falls off with every word she speaks.

“I know you are sorry, B”. Veronica’s voice is calm and she is looking at her with such a warmth in her eyes that Betty believes in her words. “And you want to know the real reason why I’m not really mad at you anymore?”

A small smile appears on Veronicas lips and her eyes leave Bettys face for a moment, wandering around the room and finally starring at the ceiling. “I guess I’m guilty as well…”. She leaves her words hanging in the air for a few seconds before her gaze falls back to Betty once again.

“I… I guess I always knew that you love Archie. You told me this the first week when we became friends, remember? I… I always knew that you have loved him for years. And I guess… I tried to push that fact to the side because you got together with Jughead and I was so glad that Archie found interest in me.” It’s a sad smile on Veronicas lips and Bettys heart breaks a little by that sight. “I mean I knew that you two had so much history together. But I forgot about that over the last years… or I tried to burry that thought.”

“But that doesn’t make my mistakes any better”. Betty finds her voice again, even now defending the girl in front of her like she did millions of times before.

“No… but I knew you liked Archie at the time I came to Riverdale”, Veronica replies. “… and I still kissed him at Cheryl’s party… I then I kissed him again and again. I tried to get together with Archie even though I knew you two had some special connection and that you were head over heels for him. And I guess that was some sort a betrayal as well”.

“But Archie rejected me, V. He didn’t love me back then, so all your actions were justified”.

Veronica laughs for a moment, shaking her head while answering. “Well… I had a little conversation with him after walking home from school in that week. He told me how he proposed to you as a child… it was a cute story for sure, but that’s not the whole point.”

The dark-haired girl folds her hands over her knees, her eyes still laying on Betty’s face.

“What I’m trying to say is that I knew in that moment that a part of him was in love with you, Betty. It was the way he spoke about you… and the way his whole face lit up during that conversation. You… you should have seen him Betty”.

Veronica is clearly lost in her memory and Betty tries to use that time to think about the things she just said. She never knew about that conversation between Archie and her best friend and a part of her understands what Veronica is trying to say with that.

“So, to be clear about all of that… I knew what I was getting into when I chose to be with Archie. Yes, I tried to push the thought away that maybe, some part of him was still in love with you… but I always knew that our relationship wasn’t purely built on love and passion. And maybe that’s why I’m ready to forgive you now… I’m not saying that what you did was okay… but I’m saying that you’re not the only one who made a mistake here and I’m ready to move on, now that we’re all leaving the town anyway”.

Betty isn’t quite sure what she expected from her visit here… but surely not this. After weeks of isolation, avoiding each other and guilt eating her inside, the words Veronica just said to her work like some sort of medicine for all the wounds the last months left on her soul.

Maybe that’s why she feels like she is about to cry when they both stand up at the same time, Veronica is walking around the small table and they fall into each other’s arms, holding each other much tighter than ever before.

“I’m so sorry, V”, she mumbles against her shoulder, tears swimming in her eyes.

“I know”. There is a beat of silence and then; “And I forgive you”.

Betty closes her eyes and smiles over Veronicas shoulder, realizing how much she missed the feeling of having her as a friend.

“Thank you”, she mumbles. _Thank you, thank you, thank you_.

Betty stays at the Lodges house until it’s dark outside, talking with Veronica about the impending future.

She sends Archie a text message that she will sleep at her house tonight and he doesn’t have to wait for her when Veronica asks her about him. “So… what are you two now? Are you together?”

She has to think about that nearly a minute until she realizes that she doesn’t have a real answer to that. “I don’t know, V. But I like him… a lot”.

The smile on Veronicas face is painted with a hint of sadness. “You know that he will leave this Sunday, right?”

And just like that the sorrow in her heart is back and all she can do is nod. “I know”.

She leaves around midnight and Veronica’s driver brings her home safely. The lights in the Coopers house are still on and she is standing in the dark front yard for a solid minute until she turns around and walks towards the Andrew’s house.

She knocks a little diffident against the front door and is more than relieved when Archie’s mom opens the door. The funny thing is, that the red-haired women isn’t even surprised to see her here at this late hour.

“Archie is upstairs”, she smiles, nodding to the stairs. “You can come in if you want”.

“Thank you, Mrs. Andrews”.

Archie’s mom disappears into the living room when Betty walks up the stairs and she once again realizes how well she knows this house even after all these years.

The light on the first floor is already out as she opens the door of Archie’s room and she realizes that he is already asleep.

She kicks her shoes off beside the door and walks through the dark room, the moonlight from outside the window guiding her the way.

He wakes up the second she lays down beside him on the small bed, softly cuddling on his shoulder, one arm closed around his chest.

They both know that this wasn’t planned and that she wanted to sleep at her house this night, but he doesn’t say a thing as he places his chin on the top of her hair and pulls her into his arms a little tighter.

“I talked to Veronica today”. Her voice is just a whisper.

“Are you alright?” His voice sounds tired and low and she turns her head that her face is laying on his chest, eyes closed while taking in his familiar scent.

“Yes”. Her voice is a whisper, followed by a short silence.

“I’m not ready to say goodbye”.

They both know that she doesn’t just mean Veronica with that… she means everything. She means saying goodbye to the school. To Riverdale. To the people… to each other.

He pulls her even tighter after that and her heart breaks a little when he places a short kiss on the top of her head. “I’m not ready to say goodbye either”.

**_2 days_ **

The graduation party of Riverdale High is bright and colorful. The sport hall is filled with people, most of them students in blue and yellow graduation ropes, the rest are mostly proud parents and teacher that maybe are a little too happy that a few students are leaving the school behind today.

Betty always dreamt about this day. But standing on the stage today, looking at the smiling faces of all the parent on their chairs and listening to all the goodbye speeches of the students and teachers is way more emotional than she had imagined.

There is a lot of applause every time a student’s name gets called to receive their diploma and Betty almost claps her hands numb when the names of her friends get called up. FP seems to be the proudest dad of them all when it’s Jughead’s turn to get his diploma and she can’t help but smile at the chaotic scenario in front of her eyes.

She cheers when it’s Veronica’s, Cheryl’s and Toni’s turn and she can hear all of them clapping for her when she is the one walking towards the teacher to receive her diploma. Her eyes meet the ones of her mom and Polly, and she could swear that Alice Cooper is already crying like a baby.

Archie is one of the last students that gets called up and Betty can’t help but to picture him in one of the Navy uniforms as he walks to the front of the stage, smiling towards Mrs. Andrews in the crowd. _Will he fit into the Navy? Will he like it there? Will this even make him happy?_

She tries not to think about everything to much and focuses on the positive things – like the fact that Veronica is the first one that hugs her the second everyone can leave the room.

“It’s over”, she nearly screams in Bettys ear, waving her diploma around like a tony award.

“Yeah… crazy”. _Maybe it’s normal to feel sad on graduation day. Maybe it’s normal to share a tear or two while hugging your old best friend._

Polly and her mom are the next people to hug her and it’s weirdly calming for Betty to hear her mom whisper “I’m so happy for you Elisabeth! You’ll see, the future will hold amazing things for you!” in her ear. _I hope so mom. I really do._

But then her eyes fall on Archie Andrews on the other side of the stage, talking to his mom with a bright smile on his face and she asks herself if she even wants this future if he won’t be a big part of it.

A big part of the students decide to meet at POP’s after the formal event at the school and Betty’s heart lays heavy in her chest when she enters the well-known door to the Diner on this sunny afternoon, still wearing her blue robe, smiling at Cheryl Blossom who is sitting at one of the tables beside Toni, waving at her classmates with a big grin on the dark-red painted lips.

It just takes a few minutes until nearly all the tables are filled with Riverdale High students, the little Diner shimmering in blue and yellow robes, colors shining everywhere and the air is filled with the loud sum and laughing of the carefree people who are entering a new chapter of their lives.

Betty is still standing in front of the counter, her eyes fixed on the red-haired guy outside the building. Archie is talking to some of his football mates in the parking lot, his smile shining through the dusty window and even though it’s loud as hell inside POP’s, she can still hear his laugh over all the talking people around her.

She takes a deep breath and concentrates on finding a place to sit until she realizes that there is only one table left – the table with Veronica Lodge.

“Hey”. She smiles at her and admires the sight of her old best friend sitting here in her dark blue robe and nearly laughs at the fact that Veronica Lodge could wear the ugliest clothes on this planet and would still manage to look better than any other girl in the room. “Can I sit here?”

“Of course.” Her smile meets her own and she lets herself fall on the soft bench on the other side of the table.

They order two milkshakes, one vanilla shake for Betty, one chocolate shake for Veronica, and laugh about the order while realizing that some things never really change.

It takes Archie two more minutes to enter the Diner with a few of the old bulldogs and she watches him search the room for her. Their eyes lock with each other once he finds her sitting at the table and she can see min hesitating once he realizes that the girl in front of her is his ex girlfriend.

The blonde girl just smiles at him, telling him with this simple gesture that everything is alright and so he walks towards them, a small but confident smile on his lips as he stops right in front of their table. “Hey, you two… mind if I join you?”

The simple “not at all… sit down, Archie” from Veronica doesn’t sound feigned at all and it looks like a perfect repeat of the last three years as the red-haired boy is sitting down, but there is one significant change – this time he sits down beside the blonde girl, and not beside the brunette one.

It’s like her world suddenly clicks, falls into place or finally starts turning again as Archie’s arm brushes her own as he falls down on the place right beside her and she wonders how they look for the people around them. They are just two more people dressed in long, blue robes, going under in a sea of graduate students but she knows that there is so much more in the inside that their actions may show.

She gets torn from her thoughts the second she catches a well-known face in the crowd at the Diner entrance and she watches with amazement how no other than Jughead Jones is making his way through the building, ending his creeping gear at the end of their table.

He says hello, because that’s what acquaintance do and smiles down at them. Betty watches the way he pulls the graduate hat from his head and stares at the blue fabric in his hands. “Guess we did it”, he finally says. “We managed to graduate and also stayed alive in this doomed town… who would have thought that”. The smile he shows them after that sentence is real and maybe that’s the reason Veronica asks him to stay for a few minutes.

The second he sits down in front of her and Archie and she realizes that they’re all here – all four of them –that they actually managed it to find their ways back to each other again.

It feels like an echo from the first night they shared a booth at POP’s because back then that was the first time her and Archie actually sat side by side. That changed pretty quickly when they got into relationships with other people and only stared at each other from different sides of the table.

But right here right now… Betty is sitting beside the right person and there isn’t even a need to fight the smile on her face when she looks at the peaceful faces of Jughead and Veronica across from her. _They are okay. They are all okay. And somehow, that is everything._

So, they all clink glasses that evening, the different milkshakes smashing against each other in a colorful and cheerful night, mixing in with the loud laughing and music of their classmates around them and for a few hours Riverdale returns to something that feels like normality.

Betty doesn’t care about the past anymore; she doesn’t think about everything bad that had happened.

She felt happy in the last days because of Archie and she knows that he kind of made it his own, little mission to make her feel that way. But this night, sitting at this table with people she still cares about a lot and realizing that she never really lost them on her way here to this point, isn’t just masking her feel happy but also blessed.

She smiles at Veronica when she talks about her future at Harvard and she laughs with Jughead when he orders his third burger in a row.

“This might sound silly”, Jughead says between all the chewing. “But I’m pretty sure I will miss this place”.

They all look around, watching the people around them dancing and laughing in the light of the colored lights and they all know that they are thinking the same. _This isn’t just a place. This is home._

The second the sorrow and fear rises in her chest, Archie’s hand finds hers under the table and he clasps his fingers with hers, pulling her back to the things that really matter. Because right now she is here. Right now, she is happy.

Her eyes meet Archie’s for what feels like forever and they read each other’s minds through the loud and filled room, constantly dragging each other back to the painful reality and Betty realizes – _letting him go will be the death of her._

They stay at POP’s until midnight and leave the Diner together, all four of them.

The streetlights throw big shadows over the whole parking lot when Archie hugs Veronica and Jughead goodbye while Betty is leaning against the dirty window behind her, arms wrapped around her body to keep her whole during this heartbreaking sight in front of her. They all have a lot of history together and came a long, long way to this day.

It shouldn’t end like this. That was never the plan. They were supposed to have one last summer together. A few months full of fun and feeling carefree.

But those plans were made a long time ago, back when no one even thought about the possibility that Archie Andrews would join the Navy someday. No one knew that the Naval Academy starts at the beginning of July. No one knew that they would have to part ways this early.

Betty doesn’t understand every word between the three shadows standing a few feet away from her and she doesn’t have to. She knows by the way Jughead is hugging Archie one last time that whatever stood between them the last few months – it is gone with the wind in this very moment.

She knows that Veronica is about to cry while she tells Archie goodbye, because her voice is higher than usual when she turns to Betty one last time, shouting “I’ll see you next week, B! Don’t think you can spend the summer behind closed curtains and some nerdy schoolbooks!”

“Okay”. A silent laugh escapes Betty’s mouth as she watches the shadows of Jughead Jones and Veronica Lodge leave the place and complete silence surrounds her almost immediately. The night falls upon her as she listens to the distant sound of howling motors and absolute silence as Archie turns around and comes back to her, a nondescript smile on his lips.

“You’re alright?” His voice sounds as broken as her heart feels and she just returns his sad smile with a timid sigh. “No… are you alright?”

There is a twitch in the corner of his mouth as he stares back to her. “No… not really”.

 _This is worse_ ; she thinks. _This is so much worse than she had imagined._

He stretches out his arm, offering her his hand and she takes it within a heartbeat, locking her hand in his, closing her eyes for a second to feel the warmth that his skin passes on to hers.

“Let’s go home”.

They walk home for two different reasons. One, because her mom drove them here with her car and Betty didn’t really think about a way to get home back then and two, because it feels like they try to expand every moment they have together to something bigger, something longer and she doesn’t really care that it’s the middle of the night.

The night sky is littered with stars as she looks up at one point and the moon is hanging above them like a lantern, guiding them their way through the town with its typical silver light.

It’s bittersweet how beautiful and heartbreaking everything seems, and she clings to Archie’s hand even tighter, trying to shield herself from the thought that all of this will be over once the sun rises again.

They talk about the graduation and how stupid they all looked in these blue robes and she can’t believe they are still wearing them in this exact moment. They must look like two creatures out of this world dressed in blue, shimmering skin in this exposure, but she couldn’t care less.

She looks down at their tangled hands once they reach their houses and is amazed by the sight of their skins beside each other, looking the exact same under the light of the moon above them. Betty and Archie are different in so many things, they think in different ways, argue and talk differently. But the few things they share are the most important ones. Passion. Desire. Love.

Betty can feel all those things at once when Archie pulls her to his house in a soft movement, guiding her through the well-known rooms of the Andrew’s house after stepping through the front door.

They reach his room one final time and it feels like an echo from the night after prom somehow. _The same room, the same people, the same emotions._

But the way Archie turns back around to her once he closed the door behind him isn’t as hesitant as the night one week ago. This time he doesn’t think twice about it, he doesn’t care if their graduation robes tear apart under his unerring hands as he presses his lips and his body against hers, leaving no air between them.

She can see in his eyes that they share this nearly unbearable desire for one another, something that she never really felt in that extent in her life before and that kind of overwhelms her. She knows that this bond between them is so much deeper than the physical attraction but in this moment a huge part of that gets swept aside because they don’t just _want_ each other – they _need_ each other.

And with that, all her dams break, and she just _feels_.

She feels his hot breath in her mouth as he picks her up and pushes her against the wall beside his bed.

Feels his loving but voracious hands leaving marks on her skin as she bites in his bottom lip, making him tear their clothes of within seconds.

She feels the bundled and pent up emotions in their bodies and minds and watches how they both finally realize that they will lose one another in just a few hours.

She knows that the unstoppable separation is driving him crazy and it was clear that he wouldn’t be this calm forever. She wondered when he would break and would finally show how much the upcoming changes are affecting him, and she is kind of glad that it happens now and not tomorrow.

A part of her wants to speak to him, wants to tell him that they will get through this as well, like they have mastered every other hurdle in their way. But he makes her stop thinking with his hands, with his tongue, with his body against hers, so she mumbles in his ear and he follows her demands by throwing her to his bed, getting rid of every last piece of clothing and finally satisfies the indescribable yearning in her trembling body.

Their movements aren’t as careful or loving as the times before and she doesn’t really know why. She just knows that everything he gives her is more than she can take but not enough at the same time and she wants to laugh and cry all at once because she knows that she will lose the man that she loves and he will slip out of her hold the second she is letting go of him.

 _Don’t leave me_ ; she tells him by leaning up against him, looping her legs around his body.

 _Stay with me_ ; she says while leaving marks on his bare back.

 _I love you_ ; she thinks while she can feel his breath quickening against the skin on her neck.

He makes her scream much faster than the times before and he shuts her up with putting his hand over her mouth, softly stroking her cheek with his thumb to remind her that they aren’t the only people in this house, while they break apart at the same time. She nearly bites in his fingers while the emotions run through her body and she is simply enjoying the feeling of letting go completely.

Catching her breath wasn’t this hard ever before and she just closes her eyes and drowns in the warmth and closeness to him.

There is a soft hum on her lips as he takes his hand away from her mouth, reaching up to stroke the wet strands of hair out of her face.

Their bodies are still tangled up in each other, skin on skin, heartbeat against heartbeat and she couldn’t care less about the fact that they both seem to be poured over with sweat.

They breath the same air as they calm down together, eyes locked with each other and Betty swears for a second that she can see through his black eyes, right into the depths of his soul.

Her hand feels numb as she reaches up to stroke over the side of his face and his eyes close immediately when her fingers slide over his skin. She bends up a little and presses her lips against his and a deep and rough sound comes out of the back of his throat as he catches her mouth with his own, deepening the connection with every second that passes by.

 _This is it_ ; she realizes. _This is everything I ever wanted. And it will get ripped out of my hands._

“I will miss this”. His voice sounds hoarse the next time he speaks, his words lingering in the silence like a shadow of the moment.

She glances up to him, memorizing the light that the moonlight leaves in his dark eyes. “Me too”.

He looks down on her for a long moment and she wonders what exactly goes through his mind. Right when she is about to ask him, he leans down again, sealing her lips with his own, her shaking body responding to him in the most natural way and she stops pretending that she doesn’t want to get the best out of the remaining time she has with him.

She doesn’t count how many times they sleep with each other in that night and she knows that if she would try to remember, the only memories that would flash through her mind would be the rare emotions between them, the overwhelming physical connection and the permanent mixture of love and fear shown in their desperate touches and almost hectic movements.

**_Last day_ **

Hours pass by until the sun is rising in the east, slowly starting to fill the room with warm, orange light once the final day breaks upon them but Betty doesn’t even think about going to sleep.

Her heartbeat is calm and steady as she watches Archie beside her, his eyes are closed and he is breathing in such an peaceful way that Betty wishes they could stay like this forever.

He fell asleep a few minutes ago, his arms are wrapped around her like he is afraid to lose his hold of her, even while he sleeps.

A heartbreaking smile is painted on the blonde girl’s lips as she presses a soft kiss on the arm he has wrapped around her chest and she forces herself to close her eyes, but not without memorizing every detail about this beautiful moment.

_The next time she opens her eyes he is gone._

“ _Archie_?!” Her voice sounds almost shrill as she searches the room with wide awake eyes, jumping out of the bed in the next second to throw on her clothes from yesterday. She hurries down the stairs and nearly stumbles over her own feet while reaching the kitchen.

She almost cries when she sees him standing there, right behind the dinner table, putting some dishes down, already fully dressed. He smiles when he looks up to her and she hates him for laughing at her wild emotions.

“Hey”. He places a short kiss on her temple when she wraps her arms around his waist. “You’re hungry? My mom will be back with some toast any moment”.

She brings out a slow nod, smiling up at him to shake the worried feelings away.

Mrs. Andrews returns five minutes later, and they eat together at the kitchen table, talking like it is just another normal day in Riverdale.

_But it isn’t._

Betty tries to ignore the packed suitcases which are lined up in the corridor right beside the front door.

She tries to ignore the tense atmosphere in the room while they eat.

She tries to ignore the hollow feeling in her chest when she watches Archie talk about the route he has to drive today to get to the Academy this evening.

Since there is no train connection between Riverdale and Annapolis he doesn’t have any other choice than to drive the whole way with his car.

It’s 3 hours and 52 minutes from Riverdale to Annapolis.

It’s 1 hour and 14 minutes from Riverdale to New Haven.

And it’s 4 hours and 34 minutes from New Haven to Annapolis.

_4 and a half hours from Yale to the Naval Academy._

_4 and a half hours laying between them._

Betty tries her best to not think about the upcoming goodbye between them and joins the conversation of Archie and his mom. But you can’t stop time through deepening a conversation.

“I think it’s time to go, Archie”. Mrs. Andrews is starring at the clock on the wall, a sad but also proud look on her face. “When you leave now, you will reach Maryland before it gets dark outside”.

He nods to her words. “I’ll get the rest of my stuff from my room”.

“I’ll come with you”. Betty goes after him as soon as he leaves the room and shivers because of the electric silence between them on their way upstairs.

As soon as they reach his room he closes the door behind them and turns around to her, his eyes pointed to the floor in front of his feet, mixed emotions painted on the shadows of his face.

She doesn’t really know what to do so she walks to his bed and sits down on the soft matrass, closing her eyes for a few seconds.

They avoided this conversation as long as possible, but it was clear that at one point, they would have to talk about the future and the consequences this separation would mean for them.

Betty opens her eyes again and look up to him, realizing that he is already starring back at her. Their eyes meet in the middle and she takes a deep breath. “What do you think?”

There is a wrinkle on his forehead from all the thoughts circling around in his head and she can’t help but wonder what goes through his mind in this exact moment.

His eyes linger on her face the entire time until he finally begins to speak. “I think that I don’t want to go”. His voice is steady and clear, but his expression shows her the indecision and chaos inside him.

“I don’t want to go”, he says again. “I don’t want to leave Riverdale. And I don’t want to leave you”.

Her expression softens while he speaks. “Arch…”.

“I know”. He interrupts her before she can say anything else, takes a step towards her while running his hand through his hair. “I just… I thought that this would be easier, you know?”

He looks so young right now, standing here in front of her, voice now unsteady and slow. “What are we going to do Betty? I know we should have talked about this earlier… but we both know we have our problems to get the timing right, remember”. A small smile appears in the corner of his lips and she smiles back up to him, trying to lift the mood at least a little bit.

“What are we going to be?”, he asks and for a long moment no one says a thing.

_How can I say what we are going to be when I don’t even know what we are right now?_

“I don’t want to lose you”, she answers with a broken voice. “I know that we don’t have many options in this situation, and I know that the most people either choose to break up before they even go separate ways and the other half tries to keep contact but fails miserably. The only thing I know is that I don’t want to spend the next five years without you in my life”.

Their eyes never leave each other while she speaks. “I damn well know that we have to go these different paths, Archie. And I know that we won’t see each other for weeks. But I want to… I want to try this”.

The silence between her shaky words is ringing in her ears and the uncertainty about this whole situation is driving her crazy from the inside. “I want to try this… with you. I want this to work… whatever this even is”.

Her breath gets caught up in her throat for a short moment when Archie is taking another step in her direction and gets on his knees right in front of her feet, his hands resting on her legs while he looks up to her. The small smile in the curve of his lips slowly turns into a grin as she reaches out and runs her fingers through his hair.

It’s kind of scary to lay your heart open like this and Betty should feel terrified about opening up this much. But there is something in the way Archie looks up to her that makes the remaining doubts in her head disappear.

“I want to try this as well”, he suddenly says, closing his eyes for a few seconds while clearly enjoying the feeling of his hair getting calmed with her soft fingers. “Wherever this takes us… and whatever this is… I’m in”.

They stay like this for a moment with nothing but the echoes of their own words lingering in the room. “Did you ever thought we would end up like this?”, she asks quietly, and his eyes open again, meeting hers with a warm feeling.

“Like this?... Never”. He laughs at his own words and she can’t help but to shake her head to it, a silly smile creeping on her face. “No… to be honest… a part of me always believed… or hoped that we would get to this point, Betty”.

Her fingers slide over the side of his face, dancing around the soft skin of his neck and she loves how he licks his lips while starring back up to her. “You really thought we would find our way back to each other after… after everything that happened in the last three years?” Her question is honest and she is curious about his answer.

“Not… continuously”, he confesses. “Not when I started the relationship with Veronica… not when you got in a relationship with Jughead… but I thought about it from time to time, every time I saw you through the window. I guess that… there was a little part of me that never let go of the thought of being with you someday. Maybe I lied to myself when I rejected you at this cursed prom night three years ago… ” He gets lost in in thoughts for a moment. “But remember when I proposed to you in second grade? Well I guess that’s enough proof that I kind of had a thing for you”.

She laughs at his word choice. “Had a thing for me, huh?”

The smile on his face gets a bit bigger while he shrugs his shoulders. “Yeah, I guess…it was kind of a big deal to me to propose to someone at the age of eight”.

“Well, it was kind of a big deal for me as well, considering the fact that I wrote a whole essay about it in one of my diaries”.

He laughs about the part with the diaries and she just rolls her eyes at him. “I guess that’s what best friends do, right?” Her words are a tease and she knows it.

“We were never just friends and you damn well know that”.

He leans up and kisses her after that and somehow this is the ending to their conversation and also the answer to all their questions at once.

_Yes, I love you._

_Yes, we will try this._

_Yes, we will see each other again._

_And yes, I will miss you._

Betty sights when he breaks their kiss apart and stands up in a fast motion.

“It’s time”. He reaches her his hand like he did the night before and she takes it with a sad smile, letting him pull her up without any effort. One backpack filled with object like toothbrush and shampoo is left in his room and he grabs it while walking to the hallway.

His mom is already waiting in the hallway when they walk down the stairs and Betty leaves them some privacy with the words “I’ll wait in front of the house”.

She closes the front door behind her and walks through the front yard, closing her eyes for a moment and breathing in the warm July air. The sun is high up in the sky, shining down on her head while she steps on the sidewalk in front of the Andrew’s house, starring at Archie’s car which is parked right in front of her.

Betty always dreamt about the ending of High School. The thought of going to college and leaving Riverdale behind was always a goal for her, something that she wrote in her diaries when she was younger.

That she would lose her best friend Archie Andrews is a price that she never thought she would have to pay.

Her eyes lay on the dark car in front of her and she tries to imagine her best friend in a Navy Uniform. She tries to imagine a future where they would stay together like this, never being separated, never getting teared apart.

But that’s not how life works and she knows that.

She turns around when she hears the front door behind her opening and rushes to help Archie carrying his suitcases down the stairs. Mrs. Andrews is standing in the opened front door, watching them stow all of his baggage into the little car and Betty knows that she has been crying by the way her cheeks are glittering.

“It will be weird… not having you around every single day”, Betty admits while he slams the door of the luggage space shut.

He turns around to her and the small smile that was resting on his lips the entire time begins to fade. “I know… and I will miss seeing you every time I look out of a window”.

The sun shines on his red hair as he turns the car key in his hands, eyes fixed on the blonde-girl’s face. “I’ll miss you Betts”.

A broken smile breaks over her face, small but real and she tries everything in her power to keep the tears in her eyes from running down her cheeks. “I’ll miss you too, Arch”.

 _God, that’s so cheesy_ ; she thinks. _So, so damn cheesy but that’s the truth and if anyone will understand this, it’s him._

She takes a step forwards and they reach for each other at the exact same time, arms wrapping around each other, her face pressed against his chest, his face buried in her hair.

They hold each other for a solid minute, just breathing in the scent of each other, feeling the warmth and electricity one last time.

“We’ll see each other in a few weeks”, he reminds her, his words only a whisper against her ear.

She nods with her eyes closed, wrapping her arms a little tighter around his body.

“You can bet on that”, she mumbles against his shirt. “And you better wear your uniform when I visit you… this four-hour car ride should be worth it”.

The laughter coming from his lips is the exact reaction she wanted from him and she smiles while slowly letting go of him. “Alright… I think I can arrange that”.

There is a sadness in his eyes that doesn’t quite reach his smile as he leans forward and catches her lips with his own one last time.

The kiss is short but filled with emotions. She can feel their heartbreak in the way they lean into each other and she knows if he would hold her any longer, she would never let go of him again.

Maybe that’s the reason he doesn’t even look at her when they break apart. He turns around and gets inside the car and he’s only looking back to her after cranking down the window.

There is a beat of silence between them when their eyes meet again and she crosses her arms in front of her chest, answering his small smile with her own.

“Drive safe”, she says, but the hidden _“I love you”_ is hanging in her voice in a painful obvious way. Her words are partly a request, partly a threat and this time his smile reaches his eyes.

“I’ll call you when I get there”. _I love you too_. He winks at her before starting the motor and she can’t help but laugh at his playful expression.

He doesn’t say goodbye when he steps on the pedal and she is happy she doesn’t have to speak any more words when he leaves his parkin spot right in front of the house.

She watches him drive down the street and smiles until the car gets out of her sight. The second she can’t see or hear the car anymore she allows herself to break down a little by finally letting the tears in her eyes run down her cheeks, followed by a silent cry from her trembling lips.

“Betty?” Mrs. Andrews is still standing in the opened front door of her house und Betty quickly wipes the tears on her cheeks away, fighting a smile on her lips while turning around.

The red-haired Lady just smiles at her with a knowing look on her face. “You… want to drink some coffee or tea, sweetie?”

Betty just nods in an almost hectic way, indescribable happy for the welcomed distraction. “I would love too, Mrs. Andrews”.

She spends two more hours at the Andrew’s house, talking with Archie’s mom about the everything that comes to their minds and Betty is more than glad to have someone that shares her emotions in the same extent as her.

It’s already afternoon when she returns to her own home and manages to get into her room without meeting any other person in the house. With lazy speed she steps into her room, closing the door behind her with a muffled sound.

She is about to let herself fall onto her bed, clearly exhausted by this emotionally charged day, when she notices something sparkling on her pillow.

It takes her a few seconds to realize what the little object on the soft fabric actually is… maybe because she hasn’t seen this thing for over a decade… maybe because a part of her things that it’s just not possible that she is seeing clear right now.

_On her pillow lies a piece of paper and right next to it a small, golden plastic ring_.

The ring Archie wanted to give her in second grade. The one he used to propose to her.

She reaches out in slow motion, carefully picking the little toy up. Shock and amazement are painted on her face as she stares at the glittery thing in her hands, her eyes wandering over the red, little, heart-shaped diamond on top of the small ring.

 _“Oh litte Archie._ _We’re too young… ask me when we’re 18 and I’ll say yes”._

Her heart breaks and jumps at the same time when the flashback of the second-grade dances through her mind.

Not once she thought about the possibility that she would see this ring again. It became part of a memory that she wanted to forget for a long time and even when things between her and Archie turned to the better, the thought that he kept this ring all these years never even crossed her mind.

_But he did. He actually kept the ring._

She looks back to her pillow and grabs the peace of paper, unfolding it in a clumsy way.

> **_Don’t freak out, this isn’t supposed to be a second proposal, so you can relax._ **
> 
> **_I’ll give you the ring as a reminder._ **
> 
> **_A reminder of our history._ **
> 
> **_A reminder of our past._ **
> 
> **_And maybe a reminder of me._ **
> 
> **_I know that thinking about the future right now kind of sucks._ **
> 
> **_But this ring symbolizes how far we have come… and that our way hopefully doesn’t stop here._ **
> 
> **_I know that we will try this long-distance thing and I’m happy about that._ **
> 
> **_But I’m not that naïve to think that this is going to be easy._ **
> 
> **_I know what separation feels like… and what it means._ **
> 
> **_I’m sure you will rock Yale. You’re literally the only person I know that can master anything._ **
> 
> **_And I know that your life and mine, will change… if we want them too, or not._ **
> 
> **_So please keep the ring as some kind of souvenir…_ **
> 
> **_… and think about the happy days when the college life tries to get you down._ **
> 
> **_The ring is a symbol for the good times we had together._ **
> 
> **_And I don’t just mean the last few weeks. I mean our childhood… the adventures._ **
> 
> **_It’s supposed to remind you that no matter what will happen, you still have a happy place to return to._ **
> 
> _**The ring stands for your home, Betty. The ring stands for Riverdale.** _

The letter is written just like his song lyrics and Betty smiles at the fact that Archie is and always has been an poet and a really good song writer. He knows how to juggle with words, that’s something that Betty never really mastered.

She reads the letter again… and again… and again.

His voice is humming in her ears, whispering every word, underlining the meaning with every sentence.

There are new tears in her eyes when she finally puts down the letter in her hands, laying it back down on her bed.

She looks up and her eyes automatically fall on the window in front of her. Her heart beats loudly in her chest, reminding her to breath when she looks through the glass like she did thousands of times ago.

The room across from her is dark and her mind circles by the realization that it will stay like this for a long, long time.

_He is gone._

Her eyes fall shut and she turns the ring in her hands, twisting it around like she is trying to remind herself that she is actually holding it in this very moment.

Archie might be gone, but he will never really leave her.

She is holding onto the ring in her hands, feeling the invigorating realization in her body and suddenly she is calm.

_This ring is a promise._

_A promise that they will always find their way back to each other._

_A promise that they will never be just best friends._

_A promise that they will always have this place to come back too, one day._

_Riverdale is their home._

Betty claps her hand around the ring in her hand, a smile breaking through her mixed emotions as she turns away from the window, her eyes landing on the big Yale-Poster on the wall.

She dreamt about going to this college since she was a little girl. There were many dreams in her head, when she pictured her future.

_The perfect school, the perfect college, the perfect family._

The picture in her head of the perfect man by her side was always a little bit blurry. A grey silhouette holding her hand, guiding her through the dark times of life. An unknown stranger without a face.

She nearly laughs as she looks down to her hands, staring at the beautiful little ring between her fingers, slowly realizing what a part of her always knew. The stranger in her imagination isn’t as unfamiliar as she always thought. And when she would try to imagine this stranger in this very moment, she knows what his face would look like… and that is the exact same face she always saw.

Her voice is a whisper, the smile on her lips as real as her long overdue realization.

“ _Oh Arch… the stranger is always you”._

_• To be continued in Part 2 •_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really hope you liked this last chapter! This has been the longest chapter of them all with 14 pages, just because I couldn't stop writing…  
> There will be a second Part to this story and it will be up in a few days. It will be called "The Stranger Is Still you" and will pick up right after the last scene of this chapter :) The story will takes place during Betty and Archie's time at Yale/Naval Academy and how they struggle with a long-distance relationship... things won't be as easy as in Riverdale, that's for sure :)
> 
> I thought about ending this story with Archie leaving Riverdale without saying goodbye to Betty, but then I realized that it wouldn't quite fit in the story and to the characters… I just think Archie wouldn't do something like that.  
> I hope you guys liked the ending how I wrote it... :) Would love to read some of your thoughts about this story!! 
> 
> And a big thank you to all the people who left kudos and comments - you guys have no idea how happy I am when I read your comments! <3
> 
> Stay healthy and safe! xx


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